Page 44 of The Runaway

Connor picked at the dried peaches sitting in a bowl on the bed in front of him. He wasn’t hungry, not really, but Gabriel had seemed so eager when he’d offered him more food that he’d felt compelled to say yes. The alpha was watching him closely now, a small smile tugging at his lips every time Connor took a bite.

Connor couldn’t help but smile back. The first round of sex had been a revelation, the absence of pain and the unexpected pleasure equally startling. And once again, Gabriel seemed in no hurry to move things along. Was this how Dante felt, he wondered, when he mated with Antoine?

To be honest, it was unsettling, as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seemed inevitable that he end up doing something wrong or asking too much of his alpha. And when he did, God only knew what consequences he’d be faced with.

But for the moment, at least, he was enjoying the quiet interlude and the feeling of being well cared for.

“I think I’ve had enough,” he said eventually, pushing the bowl back towards Gabriel. “Thank you. That was really nice.”

Gabriel beamed at him as he set the bowl back in the crate. His eyes were golden again, the latest episode lasting longer than the previous ones. But instead of becoming impatient as the hormones increased in strength, Gabriel had become even more solicitous. Was the room too warm or too cold? Did the bed have enough pillows? Was there anything else Connor wanted? The endless questions were almost becoming awkward, and Connor tried to think of something he could ask for that he actually needed, just to give Gabriel something to do.

He felt a hand on his leg and looked down to see Gabriel sliding his fingers up and down Connor’s calf. “How are you feeling?” The question might have been an innocent one but for the stray glance Gabriel gave Connor’s groin. And despite his relatively good mood, Connor felt his gut churn again. He knew he couldn’t put it off forever, but the idea of leaping back into another round of mating already was daunting. They were both still entirely naked, and Gabriel’s prominent erection was hard to ignore. But then again, Connor’s own erection was becoming more insistent as the minutes ticked by.

Gabriel rubbed his calf in slow, even strokes. “Is there anything you want?”

An idea occurred to Connor, but it was so outrageous that he almost dismissed it out of hand. If he’d asked such a thing of any other alpha, he’d have been laughed out of the house. Right before he was beaten for his insolence. A part of him wanted to just forget the idea, unwilling to take such a large risk.

But another part – perhaps a larger, bolder part – wanted to see how far he could push this. And to find out just how amenable Gabriel really was. They still had another ten hours to go, after all, and one painless mating didn’t mean things were going to continue the way they’d begun.

“Actually, there is something I’d like,” Connor said, watching Gabriel carefully to gauge his reaction. “Could I ask you to massage my feet?” It was something he’d had to do for his first master at various times, but he’d never imagined an opportunity would arise for him to be on the receiving end. His heart was racing as he waited for Gabriel’s response, and he wondered if he’d just made a huge mistake.

Gabriel’s face softened, crinkles appearing around his eyes as he smiled. He gave Connor a look of such heart-wrenching tenderness that he actually thought he might burst into tears. “Anything you want,” Gabriel said, reaching for his left foot. He slid it into his lap and began a firm, slow rub, starting at his toes and working all the way back to his heel. Once he was finished, he set the foot down on the bed and picked up Connor’s other one, giving it the same treatment.

As Connor watched him, settled back comfortably on his elbows, his emotions were a riot of contradictions. He felt a heady rush of power, with an alpha so willing to obey his commands. He felt mildly ashamed of himself, using Gabriel’s lustful haze to be so self-serving. He was surprised, no matter how generous Gabriel seemed to be feeling, that he’d stoop to performing such a service for an omega. And most unexpected of all, he felt a surge of sorrow, of grief, almost. This was not his place in the world, not to be waited on by one so much higher than himself. This was not real. Gabriel didn’t actually believe that a lowly omega was worthy of such attention; it was merely the rut messing with his mind that was making him think so. Connor was not special, and the illusion of what might once have been left him feeling hollow.

As if sensing his sudden dark mood, Gabriel looked up, and his hands immediately began to drift higher, up Connor’s legs, past his knees, then up his thighs. He stopped short of touching anything really interesting. “I think you’re feeling distracted,” he suggested, then he glanced down again. “Maybe I could find something better to distract you with?”

Connor’s erection had returned while Gabriel had been rubbing his feet, and Connor’s hand slid down unbidden, his fingers curling around his cock. How did Gabriel do that, taking him from mournful to aroused in five seconds flat? His hips flexed upwards into his own hand, and he let out a faint mewl. That felt nice…

A moment later, Gabriel’s hand covered his own, then took over the task entirely. “You like that?”

“Yeah.” Gabriel’s movements were slow and gentle, so different from other hands that had tugged at him like they wanted to rip his cock off.

Gabriel shifted around, nudging Connor’s thighs apart and settling between them. He pressed a kiss to his thigh, then to the crease where his leg met his hip, and Connor squirmed. “Ticklish?”

“Yeah.”

That sly grin was back again, and Gabriel pressed another kiss to the spot, chuckling when Connor shivered and twitched. Then his mouth moved further up, taking the head of Connor’s cock again. His tongue stroked the tip, then he slid his mouth down, taking more in. Connor let his head fall back. “That’s really nice…”

The suction increased, the wet heat moving up and down, and Connor let the feeling wash over him. He knew what to expect this time, and he let it happen, his hips rolling gently. His hand moved of its own accord, landing in Gabriel’s hair. He stroked the close-cropped strands, thinking that the prickle of his short hair was like a cat licking his hand. Gabriel hummed in appreciation, moving faster. His other hand came up to cup Connor’s balls, and he felt a moment of fear. Too many people had used that part of his body to cause him pain.

But Gabriel’s touch was light, stroking, not squeezing. The sensations built in his groin again, wave after wave, growing stronger, and then Connor felt his next orgasm gathering. Gabriel hummed again, his tongue lapping at Connor’s cock, and then he was coming again, into Gabriel’s mouth, while the alpha held his hips and swallowed the offering without complaint.

Connor felt tears gather in his eyes again, and one leaked down to soak into the pillow beneath his head. What strange new world had he stumbled into wherethiswas considered acceptable? What on earth had he done to deserve this kind of attention?

“Feeling good?” Gabriel asked, as he finally drew away.

Connor hastily wiped the tears out of his eyes. “Fantastic,” he said. According to the rumours, if an omega was lucky enough to have an attentive alpha during a heat, said alpha thrived on praise. If the alpha offered food, they wanted to be told it was delicious. If they provided blankets, they wanted to be told the bed was comfortable. Failure to adequately appreciate the alpha’s efforts could result in overzealous attempts to correct the problem – by providing ten pillows, for example, instead of the two that had been requested – or alternatively, could lead to the alpha becoming despondent and abandoning his attempts to satisfy his omega. Connor didn’t want to deal with the inconvenience of the former problem, and he thought his heart would break if he had to watch Gabriel moping in disappointment because he thought he’d failed to please Connor.

But even in the midst of a rut-haze, Gabriel was no idiot. He leaned over Connor, tracing the trail of his tears with a gentle finger. “I’ve upset you,” he whispered.

“No! No, you haven’t,” Connor said, sitting up and taking his hand. “It’s just you’re being so sweet, and I didn’t expect it, and it…” He floundered for a way to explain it. “It makes me feel all squishy inside,” he said eventually, knowing it sounded ridiculous.

Gabriel leaned down, pressing his lips ever so lightly against Connor’s. “That’s the way you’re supposed to feel.” It was? How? Why?

But having his cock sucked, as nice as it was, wasn’t a solution to the pain the heat caused. Gabriel crawled up the bed again, rearranging himself so he was sitting back against the headboard. “Come back up here,” he said, beckoning Connor forward.

Connor moved, straddling Gabriel’s lap without thinking about it too much. He moved to position Gabriel’s cock at his entrance and sat back, less cautious now that he was already stretched and ready. He rode Gabriel in quick, smooth strokes, until the alpha groaned again and the knot swelled, once more locking them together. Connor felt the cramps in his belly ease and sighed in relief. And once more, the knot pressed on a spot deep inside him that made his erection spring back to life. He’d orgasmed during a heat before, but always as an afterthought, a reaction wrung from his body like vomit.