Page 33 of Overeager (Extra Credit #1)

Eli

E li woke slowly, his skin wonderfully cool for the first time in forever. Cool and … sticky. Crusty? Not clean; that was for sure. By the feel of it, he was definitely covered in multiple layers of dried sweat and who knew what else.

He opened his eyes—his bedroom was dark and dim, but there was a little daylight coming in from under the door to the hallway. The air was thick with the rich, heady mix of sex, slick, and alpha cum.

Noah’s arm was wrapped firmly around him, his broad body spooning Eli’s back. They no doubt had been knotted together when they’d fallen asleep, but they were separated now.

Eli was empty for the first time in ages.

He twisted in small, careful movements until he was facing Noah. The alpha was deeply asleep, his wide mouth half-open, his blond hair the wildest nest of curls Eli had ever seen it. He had dark circles under his eyes, and Eli had to resist the urge to trace them with his finger.

Poor Noah. Eli must have really worn him out.

He flushed, biting at his lip. He remembered, of course.

His heat hadn’t been a total blackout, just …

fuzzy around the edges. But Eli remembered begging.

Lots of begging. Begging for Noah’s touch, his kiss, his knot.

Over and over and over again. He also remembered refusing food and water, only barely coaxed by Noah’s mouth or fingers or cock into taking care of himself even the slightest.

Well, Eli had warned him.

Noah stirred, as if sensing the weight of Eli’s searching gaze, his thickly lashed eyes blinking open blearily. He immediately sat up, hovering over Eli. “Baby?” he asked, voice thick with sleep. “What’s— You ready for more?”

Eli wanted to tease him—Noah barely looked like he was capable of standing, let alone dicking Eli down one last time—but Noah seemed so sincerely worried that Eli smiled gently instead. “My heat broke,” he told him. “It’s over.”

“Oh.” Noah blinked some more, running a hand through his hair, only for it to get stuck halfway. He jerked his fingers out of the tangles with a wince, relaxing slowly back onto the blankets. “Oh, thank God.”

Eli’s lips twitched. “Was it that bad?”

Noah threw his bicep over his eyes with a tired laugh. “Are you kidding? It was amazing. Transcendent. Fucking spiritual . I’m just drained, baby.” He lifted his arm to give Eli a sly look. “You took all my cum. Sucked it out of me like an incubus, every last bit. Past, present, and future.”

“Your future cum, even?” Eli tried to look appropriately alarmed, but it was difficult to manage with the smile that wanted to escape.

Noah nodded somberly. “Mm-hmm. I’ll be shooting blanks for the next decade. If I even shoot anything at all.”

“Oh my.”

Noah uncovered his eyes with a much more robust laugh, the sound trailing off as he looked at Eli with fresh concern, his large hand reaching over to cup Eli’s hip tenderly. “How are you feeling? You must be hungry. Thirsty.” He sat back up with a groan. “I’ll go and—”

“Hey. Hey .” Eli ran a soothing hand over Noah’s arm, grateful when even that gentle touch was enough to stop him from getting out of the nest. Noah was clearly still in caretaker mode, and Eli needed to get him out of that headspace.

He met his alpha’s eyes with a small smile.

“You did such a good job taking care of me, sweetheart.”

Noah’s gaze softened immediately. “I did? You—you remember?”

“I do.” Eli swept his hand up Noah’s arm and over his shoulder, finally cupping his cheek. “And you were amazing. But you can relax now.”

Noah shook his head. “You’re still weak though. And—”

“You’re equally worn out,” Eli argued. At Noah’s stubborn look, he laughed. “Okay, how about this? We’ll take care of each other. Regain our strength together.”

Noah held out for a long moment, but he finally sighed, leaning his head into Eli’s touch. “Okay. Together, then.”

Eli glanced around the nest, wrinkling his nose at the mess they’d made of it. And themselves. It was to be expected, of course, but still—the fluids . “Shower first, I think. Then we can toss all this in the washer.”

He thankfully received no argument from Noah, and they took a luxurious shower together.

They kept things chaste, neither of them attempting anything they couldn’t finish.

They soaped each other up but didn’t linger anywhere salacious, taking turns washing each other’s hair instead, Noah leaning down awkwardly so Eli could reach.

They exchanged tender, exhausted kisses that didn’t go any further.

Both their bodies needed some recovery time.

Recovery time and a mountain of food.

There was a beautiful intimacy to it all, and Eli hated that there was a teeny, tiny part of himself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It was this part of heat that had always been a bit …

fraught in Eli’s marriage. Richard had hated the recovery phase, when he’d been too drained to work or socialize, and Eli had always been racked with guilt for having been so needy that he’d put them both there.

Eli knew better at this point than to compare Noah to Richard. But some emotional reactions were ingrained after years of habit. The fear of disappointing and being disappointed in turn. The hesitance after asking for so much.

But Noah seemed happy to be here with Eli, even weak and exhausted like this. A little worried about Eli, maybe—he’d mentioned breakfast five times in the shower already, as if convinced Eli was still going to refuse food—but certainly not resentful, even with the week of exams he’d had to miss.

After they’d each carefully toweled the other off—Noah adorably taking the time to make sure each of Eli’s toes was perfectly dry—Eli led them to the kitchen. Noah was clearly going to freak out for real if he didn’t get some food in Eli soon.

With the early heat, Eli hadn’t had a chance to stock his fridge properly for postheat recovery, but he had eggs and bacon and plenty of coffee. Noah sliced more of the fruit he’d brought, while Eli whisked the eggs, and he even found a loaf of bread in the freezer Eli had forgotten about.

What they lacked in variety of ingredients, they made up for in quantity.

So. Much. Food.

When it was all done, they sat at the kitchen table. Or, more accurately, Noah sat at the kitchen table and then promptly pulled Eli into his lap.

So Noah clearly wasn’t sick of touching him, was he? There was no hint of resentment over taking care of him.

Eli finally released the last of his lingering worry in a slow breath. Time to let go . There was no other shoe dropping anywhere. This was just the way Noah was. Thoughtful. Caring.

Loving.

Eli relished the delicious relief flooding through him, sinking back against Noah’s broad chest.

Noah placed a kiss on the top of his head. “Can I— Will you still let me feed you?” he asked, almost shy.

Eli tilted his head back to gaze at him. “You want to?”

“Yeah.” Noah’s grin was embarrassed, his cheeks lightly pink. “I think it’ll help me feel better.”

“Okay. But you too.” Eli tapped his finger against Noah’s lower lip. “A bite for a bite.”

“Yeah?” Noah’s eyes darkened, as if Eli was talking about a different kind of bite. The claiming kind. “Okay, then. A bite for a bite.”

He immediately held up a slice of bacon, and Eli bit off a piece, still locked in Noah’s gaze as he chewed and swallowed. Noah kissed him after, as if to seal the deal.

They took turns feeding each other. Noah seemed reluctant to use the fork more than necessary, giving Eli all the bacon and toast and even some of the eggs by hand, with Eli licking the extra salt off Noah’s fingers each time.

When they’d finished everything on both plates, Eli let out a relieved sigh, patting the expanded pooch of his stomach. “That’s better.”

“Much better,” Noah agreed. But he was still … tense.

Tenser than before, even. Eli leaned back to study him. Maybe now that Eli was fed, Noah needed some space after all. Eli wouldn’t begrudge him that. An omega’s heat was overwhelming, and this was Noah’s first time participating in one.

Noah shifted Eli forward on his lap, toward his knees, leaving enough space for them to meet each other’s eyes. “Eli,” he said somberly. “I need to tell you something.”

That was … ominous. But Eli only cocked his head, refusing to let any sort of dread seep into his calm state. “Anything.”

“Do you remember the very beginning of your heat?” Noah asked. “Someone at the door?”

Eli hadn’t, but he did now. “Yes.” He nodded slowly. “You left and …” Eli’s gaze drifted down to Noah’s hand. “Your knuckles.”

They were healed now, but Eli remembered how they’d looked battered and bruised when Noah had returned to the nest.

Before Noah could explain, Eli guessed. “Richard. It was Richard at the door, wasn’t it?”

Noah let out a breath. “Yeah, it was.”

“That asshole .” Eli’s spine stiffened as he clenched his fists. For an alpha to try to come uninvited into an omega’s house at the beginning of a heat … “Couldn’t he smell the pheromones?”

Noah’s fresh, salty scent took on a bitter edge as he grimaced.

“He definitely could. He was insistent on coming in anyway. Said he needed to check on you. He—he recognized me, Eli. From your class. Maybe he even had good intentions, but when he wouldn’t back down …

” He cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders. “I hit him.”

Eli grabbed Noah’s hand, reassuring him with his touch as he thought all that over. Good intentions? Eli highly fucking doubted it.

“He could have called Faith if he’d actually been worried.

No.” Eli shook his head. “He was trying to get to me when I was vulnerable. To—I don’t know—convince me to come back when I was too out of it to refuse?

” He squeezed Noah’s hand. “You did the right thing, Noah. Thank you. For protecting me.”

The bitter edge left Noah’s scent, and he sagged with relief, as if he might actually have been worried Eli would be angry with him.

And there was anger, sure. Rage, even. Eli was chock-full of it. But not an ounce of it was for Noah.

Fucking. Richard.

Noah’s thumb rubbed over Eli’s knuckles. “He—he knows I’m a student, Eli.” He said it gently, like he was breaking some unbearably difficult news.

“I know, sweetheart.”

“Your career.”

“I know.” Eli leaned his head against Noah’s shoulder with a sigh. “But it’s done.”

The secrecy was over now, blown to bits by Richard’s actions, and Eli felt weirdly calm about it.

It wasn’t that he had any doubts that Richard would expose them—it was exactly the sort of thing Richard would do.

It was just that Eli had been worried for so long, and now that things were happening, he was just … relieved to have it out in the open.

Now wasn’t the time for regret. It was the time for action.

He straightened. “Okay, then. Damage control. And whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. But first—” He turned so he was straddling Noah, grabbing his alpha’s face with both hands and meeting his gaze, unblinking. “I love you, Noah. I really, really love you.”

Noah stared at him for so long that his eyes started watering.

Or no—he was crying. Those were tears. “I love you, too, Eli,” he said thickly.

“So fucking much.” The next words came out in a rush, like he’d been waiting to say all of it.

Waiting for Eli to be ready. “I’m so happy with you.

You’re it for me, and I don’t care if I’m too young or it’s too fast or whatever the fuck people think.

I know I’m not, like, amazingly smart or driven.

Not like you. But I think I’m a—a decent person.

I’ll be the best partner I can be. Is that—is that enough? ”

Oh, Eli’s sweet, sweet alpha. Eli hadn’t realized the little insecurities hiding underneath all that innate confidence.

“You’re not just decent , Noah,” he said firmly. “You’re … good. A truly good person. And you undervalue it. Of course it’s enough. It’s more than enough, Noah.”

“Even though I complicate everything and—”

“Hush,” Eli soothed, rubbing his thumbs along Noah’s cheeks.

“I’m happy with you, too, Noah. So happy.

And complicated doesn’t mean bad. It just means we need to be smart.

Proactive.” He narrowed his eyes, considering.

“Maybe a little mean.” He dropped his hands and reached for his phone. “I’m going to make a call.”

Noah seemed to know exactly who Eli was going to have a conversation with. His grip tightened on Eli’s hips. “Can I stay? Can I listen in?”

“Of course. I’ll do it right here. We’ll do it together.”

It was time. Past time, even. Eli had put up with enough bullshit to last a lifetime, without even having any good reason for it. But he a had a good reason now to let it all go. The best reason, really.

It was well past fucking time to take away Richard’s power for good.