Page 39 of The Runaway

In previous heats, the alpha rut hadn’t hit him this early or this hard. But then again, he’d never before tried to please his omega in the way he’d just done with Connor. He still had the taste of him in his mouth. Perhaps that was the problem. Sucking on him had been exciting, with a very pleasurable result, but if the scent of it was going to drive him crazy, maybe he should-

Do it again, the inner voice declared gleefully.

For goodness sake. He found bread – already neatly sliced – and a block of cheese in the crate. He set them both on a plate, along with a knife for the cheese, and brought them back to Connor. Cheese wasn’t usually given to omegas, considered too expensive to waste on slaves, but in this case, he was more than willing to break the rules. He cut off a slice and placed it on top of the bread, then handed the plate to Connor, a thrill of anticipation seeping through him. “Here you go.”

Connor took the plate, but rather than eating, he simply stared at it. “Cheese?” he asked finally, a strange sort of disbelief in his voice. Oh, that wouldn’t do at all.

“You don’t like cheese? I can get you something else,” Gabriel offered immediately. “We have some dried peaches. Or some walnuts. Or, um…”

“No, cheese is fine,” Connor said, though he was still frowning at Gabriel. He picked up the bread and ate slowly, keeping an eye on Gabriel. That was disappointing. Connor still didn’t trust him, then.

Gabriel reached out and ran a gentle hand down Connor’s arm. “I like your freckles,” he said, feeling a sappy smile on his face. They were indeed cute, scattered across Connor’s nose like star dust.

“Sure,” Connor said, sounding vaguely annoyed. “Whatever you say.”

Hm. Food wasn’t working. Compliments weren’t working. Perhaps it was time to regroup. Gabriel sat still, watching his omega patiently while he ate. There would be a way to win him over, he was certain. And given enough time, he would find it. But for now, it was enough to make sure he had eaten and rested before his heat kicked in again. Nothing was more important than making sure his omega was well cared for.

???

Connor continued eating his bread and cheese under Gabriel’s watchful gaze. (Cheese? Really? For an omega? He’d only had cheese twice in his life, and both times Jackelyn had stolen it for him.) By the time he’d finished eating, Gabriel’s eyes were back to their usual brown.

“How are you doing?” Gabriel asked him.

A number of answers flitted through Connor’s mind. ‘You’re acting weird’ was at the top of the list, followed by ‘Why are you giving me food?’ and ‘You’re out of your mind right now, aren’t you?’

“Pretty good,” he said instead. Antagonising an alpha in rut was a bad idea. Even if said alpha was going out of his way to be nice to him. “Um… do you want to…?” He gestured to Gabriel’s erection. It was still hard and ready, not having flagged in the slightest during the wait while Connor ate.

“In time,” Gabriel said, not sounding at all concerned about it. “No need to rush.”

“Okay, um… Okay.” What was he supposed to say? He should have been on his knees with Gabriel buried balls deep in him by now – not that he wanted to be, but it was certainly what he’d been expecting. The hesitation and dilly-dallying were confusing.

“Listen, I… I have an idea,” Gabriel said. “It might make this more comfortable for you.”

“Okay,” Connor said.

“You’re going to need to be knotted soon. I know you’re not looking forward to that, but…”

It was true. The bulk of the knot inside him provided a solid mass for his passage to clamp down on. And that was the real issue with the pain caused by a heat. Giving his muscles something to chew on, as it were, stopped them from seizing up and cramping. And as unpleasant as the invasion of his body was, it was a necessary part of the process.

“But I’m guessing you don’t like being pinned down and forced, so…” Gabriel shuffled around, lying on his back on the centre of the bed. “How about we try it like this instead?”

Connor looked him over in confusion. “How would that work?”

“You come up on top. Straddle me. And then you can control how fast we go, and how deep, and if you want to slow things down, you can.”

Connor just stared at him. “You want to do it facing me?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Is that okay? We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine. That would be good. I just…” An alpha giving up control to an omega? It was insane.

“Okay, then how about I just…” Gabriel reached for the bottle of oil and drizzled a few drops onto his cock. He slicked it around with two fingers, then wiped them on the corner of the sheet. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Despite his recent climax, Connor’s body was already gearing up for another round. His small penis was hard and his ass felt wet and loose. In the past, he’d always hated that feeling, but now… It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it didn’t make him feel vulnerable and degraded like he had before. Gingerly, he rose onto his knees, then slid his leg up and over Gabriel’s waist. Once he was in position, he paused, taking in the view. Gabriel’s muscles were tense, his biceps thick, his abdominal muscles sharp and defined. And Connor was both intrigued and ashamed of the way his body responded. His cock twitched. His back passage relaxed a fraction. God, was he actually going to…?

“Take your time,” Gabriel said, as Connor made an abortive movement to sit back. He could feel Gabriel’s erection pressing against his inner thigh. It felt huge, but also soft and warm. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Okay, um…” Connor rested his hands on Gabriel’s abdomen to steady himself. “But what about when you knot me? Do you want me to…?”