Page 40 of Slow Heat

Jason closed his eyes, but there was no way he could mistake Xan’s scent for Vale’s rose-and-musk aroma. But what was the harm in playing one last game? For all he knew, Vale was currently indulging in physical pleasure with that alpha he’d been with at the library. Jason knew what they did together. He’d smelled it on him that first day.

A hard ball of jealousy ached in his gut, and he clenched Xan closer. If Vale could have previous lovers to be forgiven for, then Jason could, too.

Xan’s kisses became more desperate. “Don’t stop,” he moaned. “Please don’t stop.”

Breaking free of the kiss, Jason gazed into Xan’s eyes. “You want this?”

“More than anything.”

“Suck me.” Jason deepened his voice, making it a non-negotiable command. “Get my dick out and make me come.”

Visible relief rocked Xan’s body as he scrambled to unbutton Jason’s pants. He opened wide to get Jason’s cockhead into his mouth, sucking and moaning, letting saliva roll down the length and pool in Jason’s tightly curled, blond pubic hair.

Jason played with Xan’s dark, sweaty hair, and moaned softly. Xan knew what he liked. He gazed up at Jason with wide eyes, whimpering, and twisting his tongue around Jason’s dick. Strength and command filled him as he thrust into Xan’s open mouth.

“Take it,” he grunted, gripping Xan’s hair. “Suck me.”

Xan groaned and quickly unzipped his own pants, jerking himself off with one hand while he tried to swallow Jason’s cock.

Holding Xan’s head down, pumping up into his gagging throat, Jason’s eyes rolled back. The air around them seemed to grow crisp in a strange shift of consciousness he’d never experienced before. This wasn’t the way they usually did had sex. There was no laughter, no fun. He was dominating another alpha and getting off on the power. It had nothing to do with Xan.

Realization dawned.

Alpha expression. A power fuck. The same kind of fuck that alphas in the past had engaged in to punish or acquire, to make another man submit. Triggered by exposure to hisÉrosgápe, the urge to conquer and control was intense. He was tempted to revel in this new, brutal arousal. But it felt wrong, too. It had nothing to do with friendship and nothing to do with his omega.

He shuddered and released Xan’s head. “Off. Stop.”

Xan pulled away, wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand, and stared up tremblingly at Jason. “Why?”

Jason stared down at his hard, wet cock, beating with his heartbeat and pointing directly up at him. “This is wrong.”

“Because of him?”

Jason frowned.Yes.But it was more than that. “I’m being rough with you.”

“I like it.”

“My exposure to Vale triggered alpha expression.”

Xan’s eyes went wider and—was it possible?—even more aroused. “Oh.”

“This isn’t how we’ve done this.” Jason’s cock didn’t seem to care, though, and a pearl of pre-come glistened at his slit. He still wanted to dominate and force Xan to submit. An unknown cruelty pulsed inside him. He closed his eyes and wrestled it down. “Before. It was never like this. It was for fun.”

“I don’t care how it is, Jason. I just want it. I want it so bad, and if you leave, if you’re not there…”

Questions Jason had never let himself entertain about Xan’s future crowded his mind. What if Xan never found an omega? One he could trust with his secret needs? Would he really stop wanting to be fucked once he found hisÉrosgápe—ifhe found hisÉrosgápe? Or worse, what if Xan trusted the wrong man?

“I need it,” Xan whimpered, gripping his own cock hard, and pulling the foreskin down to expose the head. “You give me what I need. Only you. And I’ll help you, too. You can’t fuck him yet, but you can fuck me. I’ll be yours, Jason. If you’ll have me.”

A possessive thrill raced up Jason’s spine.

Xan wasn’t Vale, he wasn’t enough, and he could never be, but Jason could take him. He could give him what he needed and own him for a time, be the alpha to make him scream and come. He could bring his beautiful friend the pleasure he needed. Alpha expression was natural. It existed for a reason.

“Yeah.” Jason nodded. “Okay.” His balls were tight and hard, and he didn’t know how long he’d last, but Xan wanted what he had to give, and even if it wasn’t right, Jason wasn’t backing away. “Get your clothes off and your ass up.”

Stripping down, they stared into each other’s eyes, challenge given and received. By the time Jason was naked, the thudding of his cock obliterated rational thought. Consumed by a need to grab and take, to prove who was best between them, he would show who was the stronger alpha.

Their scents mixed in the room. Two alphas in lust and need. Rising above their mixed musk, though, he caught a whiff something else. Something true and right. Something he needed more than air, and he ripped his gaze from Xan’s to search for the source of it.