Page 19 of Omega Captive of the Golden Dragon (Alpha Dragons #3)

VARIK

I woke to see Caylen gone from his sleeping mat. All his bedding had been moved away from the front of the fireplace, but nothing was folded or rolled up as per his usual routine. Not that I cared. It was merely my observation that he was a tidy guy.

I went about my routines, bypassing the guest room door, which was closed.

There was a sweet scent in the air I couldn’t place. Fresh peaches. Sweet cream. I liked it. Maybe Caylen was showering and using a new shampoo he’d ordered.

I prepared a lunch for two, but he never showed. I put it away for later.

I went into my studio. I’d cleaned everything up since the last time I’d been in there. My supplies were neatly organized. My sketches for new projects lay in a stack waiting to be fed into the computer. But I couldn’t focus.

I wandered back to the living room. Everything was the same. Caylen’s blankets were still in a heap. The room was cold.

When Caylen hadn’t come downstairs by late afternoon and nothing had been moved around in the fridge, I knew for sure something was up.

The scent in the house lingered. Peaches and cream. And beneath that, something I couldn’t describe. Something even sweeter and more wonderful that created stirrings deep inside me and made my beast flex. It caused an erection.

I rarely thought about things like that. I refused. I was content with myself. I didn’t want sex or a mate. All that was just hormones and chemicals running through the body. It wasn’t about anything more. If I felt like rutting, I used my own hand just fine.

But Caylen’s presence changed things. Correction. It changed everything. The pull, the longing to look for him overwhelmed me.

What if something’s wrong? Find him.

Varikan had been quiet, even with the peachy scents, up until now.

What if he needs help?

I didn’t want to argue about what sort of help I suspected Caylen might need. Varikan was right. I needed to find out if he was all right.

For a while, I procrastinated my longing to search. I found myself pacing back and forth. The living room curtains turned silvery as the sun prepared to set.

I looked down at myself. Through the thick material of my pants, a bulge grew. A tingling at the base of my cock let me know my knot was ready to form at any time. That was highly unusual for me.

You can blame me. He… his scent makes me want to do things.

“Behave yourself,” I said out loud.

You know what’s happening.

“Do you?”

Caylen is hiding.

“Then I shouldn’t bother him. This will pass and if he wants to spend this time alone, we should respect that.”

What if he’s sick and needs our help? He might be hungry, dehydrated, too weak to move.

I worried over Varikan’s words. If Caylen needed care, I could provide it without things getting out of hand. I knew that about myself.

Just make sure he’s all right. Then tuck him in and leave.

I could do that. Such a small thing. I was, after all, responsible for him as the only guest I’d ever had in this house. Val didn’t count.

I strode to the kitchen and put together a care package. Bottled water. Fruit. Bread and cheese. A pack of chips. I carried the small tray upstairs. When I got to the door, I balanced it on one hand and softly knocked.

“Caylen? Are you all right?”

A wave of peach scent crashed over me, making me hungry in ways I’d never felt before. An overwhelming desire to make sure he was comfortable and fed and warm caused me to nearly drop the tray.

No sound came from within the room.

I knocked again. “Caylen.”

Still nothing. Every sense I had told me he was in there.

“Caylen, open the door. I need to make sure you’re all right.”

Instincts crowded me. If I could see with my own eyes that he was alive and just needed privacy, I would relax. I would let him be.

Even if you don’t want to?

“What should that matter? It’s what Caylen wants and needs that matters.”

You’re a good person.

One more try. Knock-knock. “Caylen?”

I put my free hand on the doorknob. It turned easily.

He hadn’t locked it. When the door opened, the scent flowed out, lovelier than ever.

The room was darkened but light still crept in through the closed curtains.

Everything was neat and tidy. The bed had been made, which was not unusual since it was hardly ever used.

No clothes were strewn about. His phone was on his nightstand along with a few other items I couldn’t quite make out.

The room did not look used.

I moved toward the foot of the bed and set down the tray. The bathroom door stood open, which surprised me. If he wasn’t in the room or in there, where was he?

Then I heard a sound like a quick breath. It had come from the other side of the bed. I came around quickly and there he was, curled up with his knees to his chest, on the floor. He leaned against the head of the bed, head down, unmoving.

Slowly, I approached. “Caylen?”

No response.

I bent down and softened my voice. “Caylen? You need to get up, okay?”

His head moved slightly.

“Let’s get up on the bed, okay?”

Finally, he looked up. “What? What?” His eyes were unfocused. Had he been sleeping?

“Can you get up?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

I reached down. “Let me help.”

I knew touching an omega in heat might affect me, but my own needs were irrelevant. The alpha in me already knew it was more necessary to see to the omega’s needs, to keep him healthy.

I put my hands under his arms and pulled him from his corner, lifting as I did so. He weighed almost nothing, coming up fast, his knees still bent. I got one arm under his thighs and brought him all the way up and onto the bed.

His hair curled damp at the temples and forehead. He moaned softly, his legs stretching as he moved his feet up and down on the mattress.

“Caylen, are you in pain?” Such a na?ve question to ask. Of course, he was. He was in heat and his body had gone into omega arousal mode.

When he answered, his voice was barely there. “You don’t have to be here. You don’t.”

“Is this normal for you?” I touched his forehead. The skin burned. “At the very least you need to eat and drink.”

He licked his lips. “Thirsty, yes.”

I grabbed the water bottle and brought it to his mouth. He drank quickly, choking a little, then swallowing more.

“Here.” I grabbed his hand and wrapped his fingers around the bottle. “Hold onto this. I’ll be right back.”

I ran into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. I rushed back to his side where he still lay, hand clutching the water bottle, and stroked it over his forehead. That seemed to revive him a bit.

“Thank you. I’m okay.”

“You certainly weren’t okay when I saw you half passed out in the corner on the floor. What happened?”

“I—I’m in heat?”

“I know that. But what happened? Is it always this way?”

He shook his head.

I stroked the washcloth over his forehead again. “You have a fever.”

He blinked slowly and tried to sit up. “I do?”

I put one arm beneath him along with a pillow, helping him sit up. “Is it okay to take aspirin? There’s some in the cabinet.”

“My head does hurt.”

I got up and retrieved the aspirin, pouring some in my hand and grabbing his bottle which had dropped and rolled partway across the bed.

He took the pills from me, and I handed him the water. He gulped back the aspirin, then said, “It’s already better.”

“Well, give the pills time to work.” I sounded confident to my ears… as if I knew what the hell I was doing. That was a laugh. I had no clue about omegas and heats. I’d never met an omega, and I wasn’t interested in the fantasies of omega porn.

I’d always accepted something was broken in me. My scars were deep. But right now, taking control felt normal, my instincts on high. Caylen needed to be cared for. I needed to be the one to do it.

“Do you need anything? Are you hungry? I can bring you whatever you want.”

“I—I don’t feel hungry.”

“Are you comfortable here? Would you be more comfortable somewhere else? I can easily move you. In front of the fire downstairs again, maybe?”

“The fire was too hot,” he said.

“I see. Okay. Well….” I noticed he had on a sweater but was still wearing pajama bottoms. “Do you want to change clothes? A blanket? Or to get into the bed?”

He took a few deep breaths. “I’m better.”

The washcloth had fallen away. His hair was damp and little strands stuck to his forehead. Unexpectedly, he reached out and gently touched the top of my hand.

“Whatever you need.” There was a slight strain now in my voice.

“I—I guess you being here has helped.” A pause. “Was I really passed out?”

“It looked that way. How long had you been there? Do you know?”

He shook his head.

“Hours, I think,” I answered for him. “I won’t leave you again.”

“I didn’t mean to disrupt your routine.” He squeezed my hand.

“I don’t really think of my life here as routine. It’s all open to interpretation.” The muscles of my mouth and cheeks firmed. I realized I was trying not to smile, or to show too many of my feelings. It made me all shaky inside.

“What do you mean?”

“Huh.” My throat tightened. “I guess I’m trying to say I get to do whatever the hell I please every day of my life.”

“That’s, um, well, I guess it’s the best way to live. Doing whatever you love like your art.”

“That reminds me.” I turned toward his nightstand. Now I saw clearly what was there. “What is all that?”

“My crystals.”

“I see. You like crystals?”

“I like all kinds of rocks. I had to leave my collection when I—when I came here. It was too heavy.”

I reached out with my free hand and picked up a thick crystal point with gold lines inside that had been polished to a shine. “I like this one.”

“That’s the only one I brought from home. I ordered those others after I got here.”

“You never showed them to me.”

He bit at his lower lip. “I hope that’s okay.”

“You aren’t required to show me anything you order. So yes, it’s okay.”

I put the crystal back with the others and began to pepper him with more questions.

“Are you tired? Do you want to sleep? To shower?”

“No.” He gripped harder at my hand. “You don’t have to keep asking.”

I cleared my throat. “Am I bothering you?”

“No! Not at all.”

“This is what alphas do for omegas in heat.” I clenched my teeth. “Among other things. It’s automatic. I’ve never experienced it before, but it’s like a desperate sort of urgent need to—to?—”

He finished my sentence for me. “To wait on me?”

“It’s called protective mode.”

“I’ve heard of it.” His voice went low. “What I want is—is for you to just stay.”

“Stay?”

“In here. With me.”

I glanced about but I really didn’t have to think about my answer. “I can do that.”

“Are you sure I’m not a bother to you?”

My body buzzed and fizzed with arousal. Every cell of my being desired to be here and only here.

I never wanted him to let go of my hand.

If this ended up as companionship and nothing more, I would be fine.

The alpha in me—and Varikan who I had not forgotten—wanted more, but not if my omega—yes, my omega—didn’t. It was not up to me.

Are you sure?

“It’s the opposite of a bother,” I answered. “I want to be here by your side. If that’s what you want.”

He seemed to relax, his body slumping. “Thank you.”

His eyelids shut halfway. He didn’t move or speak, but his hand had come underneath mine and now we were palm to palm. His elbow was awkwardly bent to keep hold of me.

You need to be the alpha. Step up. Make the decisions that will most comfort and please him. He is barefoot. He is leaking slick. He is needy.

“What should I do?”

Caylen opened his eyes wider, thinking I’d spoken to him. “Just stay.”

Get him into the bed and more comfortable. Get him towels so he’s not embarrassed. Show him the food you brought. Get into the bed with him and keep some part of your body in contact with him all the time. I’m not the human. Do I have to tell you everything?

I squeezed Caylen’s hand before letting go and standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

Back in the bathroom I grabbed clean, soft towels, another damp washcloth, his pajama top which was hanging on the towel rack, and a few other things in case he might need them.

Once back in the bedroom, I moved the tray off the bed. “Let’s get you more comfortable.”

I sat him up and pulled back the covers. He obeyed every command I gave him without protest.

“Your feet are bare so let’s get them under the blankets first.”

He moved so he now sat on the sheets. I put towels down and he looked at me with such relief my heart skipped a beat.

“Is your sweater too hot?”

He shrugged.

“Let’s get it off. I brought your pajama top. It’s lighter weight and if you get a chill, we’ll pull the blankets up.”

It surprised me when he let me help him get his sweater over his head. The skin of his bare chest looked enticingly smooth with young lean muscle. My breath hitched.

As I held out his pajama top, he said, “The air feels good. My skin is itchy.”

I set it aside, secretly amazed he was going to let me stay beside him while half-undressed.

I plumped his pillows, pulled up a single blanket and showed him the food. He took a small bite of cut-up apple, chewing slowly as if assessing whether he liked it or not.

I kicked off my shoes, then got into the bed beside him fully dressed. As soon as I settled, he put his hand on mine again.

“Thank you. Everything really is better now.”

“Good. Would you like the TV on or off?” A screen was mounted on the wall, though I doubted he’d ever watched it. He preferred the living room for that.

“Off. I’m tired.”

“Take a nap. I’ll be right here. Know that the only time I’ll get up is to go to the bathroom or bring back more food and water. It will only be temporary.”

So, the mating ritual starts.

Despite advanced arousal, there was no mating going on here. I remained strictly for my omega’s comfort. He didn’t seem to want more. I tried to silently communicate that to Varikan.

He’s shy.

If he wanted more, there would be signs.

He’s holding your hand.

It made Caylen feel better to have contact. I was the only alpha around. He might need more but he wasn’t asking either through words or wantonness.

What is wantonness?

Just as Varikan asked the question, Caylen’s body slumped against mine, his head bumping my shoulder.

My arms ached to hold him.

He’d dozed off. That was all. But after a minute, he curled his entire body against mine.

Fire flared underneath my skin. My veins ran hot, the fever going straight to my balls. A soft, accidental moan left my mouth.

Eyes still closed, Caylen responded with a soft moan of his own. His bent knee crossed my thigh and that’s when I felt it. His erection full-on prodded my hip.

My own cock jerked. The room spun. Damn. I had almost come from just that cloth on cloth touch.

“I’m sorry.” Caylen lifted his head. “I couldn’t help it.”

“Couldn’t help falling asleep?”

“No.” He hesitated a long moment. Then, “It hurts.”

“What hurts?” But I knew. And the alpha in me had never been so ready.