Page 18 of The Sterling Acquisition (Manufactured Mates #1)

Chapter eleven

Tactical Advantage

Dante

Dante felt something predatory building in his chest at the sight before him. Orion sat on the narrow bed, shirtless and flushed, radiating hostility like heat from a forge—and every instinct Dante possessed whispered that this was what he’d been hoping for.

More than that, he wanted to see what happened when all that magnificent fury had nowhere to go except into desperate need.

“Well,” Dante said, settling into the single chair with deliberate casualness. “That was quite a performance for Leo’s benefit.”

“Get the fuck out.”

Hearing Orion spit profanity with such vicious satisfaction was like watching someone shatter expensive crystal just because they could.

He wanted to hear more of it, and he definitely wanted to see what other sounds he could force from that smart mouth—gasps, moans, maybe his name broken apart by pleasure .

“I don’t think so,” he said, settling into the chair with deliberate casualness that he knew would infuriate. “Leo’s paying for my expertise, and right now my expertise says you need immediate intervention.”

Orion was on his feet before Dante could blink, and he had to appreciate the dangerous grace of it—a year of vigilance taught the Omega to move like a weapon. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“No? You look like you’re about to crawl out of your own skin.

” Dante let his gaze travel over Orion’s flushed chest, cataloguing the signs he’d been trained to recognize.

Dilated pupils, rapid breathing, and the obvious arousal pressing against worn fabric.

“Tell me, how does it feel knowing you’re going to go into heat having never been properly fucked? ”

The scent spike hit him—fury morphing into something complex and desperate. Dante watched Orion’s pupils dilate further, his breath catch, his posture shift in ways that screamed “fuck me now” despite the obvious attempt to stay focused on anger.

“Fuck you,” Orion snapped.

“Maybe later. Right now, I’m more interested in watching you cum for me again.” Dante stood slowly from the chair, satisfaction coursing through him at the way Orion tensed. “I’m curious how long that brilliant mind of yours can hold out when your body’s working against you. ”

“I’m not—” Orion started, then cut himself off as Dante took a step closer.

“You’re not what? Not desperate? Not so wound up you can barely think straight?” Another step, and Dante could smell that unmistakable tangy sweetness that meant he was dripping slick. “Not wondering what it would feel like to have me lick every inch of you?”

Dante felt his control slip at the violence of Orion’s response—hands shoving hard against his chest with enough force to move him back a step.

He caught his wrists and spun them both around, slamming Orion against the wall hard enough to feel the impact in his own bones.

The gasp it forced from Orion’s lips went straight to his cock, especially when Orion started struggling—trying to knee him, twist free, bite anything within reach.

God, he’s magnificent when he fights.

Dante pinned both wrists just above his head again, using his full weight to keep him trapped while his free hand traced along flushed collarbone.

The skin was fever-hot under his fingers, and he could feel Orion’s pulse racing beneath the surface.

“Don’t—” Orion warned, his lips trembling as he tried to bring his knee up.

“Don’t what?” he asked, curious about how far this defiance would stretch. “Don’t tell you the truth? Don’t touch you the way someone like you wants to be touched? Don’t mention that I can smell how wet you’re getting?”

“Let go of me,” Orion spat, bucking against the hold in a way that made his erection press against Dante’s thigh. The contradiction fascinated him—his body seeking contact while his mind rejected it completely.

“Not yet. I want to see what happens when I get my fingers inside you for the first time.” The crude promise made Orion’s scent spike again, and Dante pressed closer. “I bet you’d take one finger no problem if I work you open slowly. Bet you’d whimper when I add a second.”

Orion’s response was immediate and vicious—head snapping forward in an attempt to break Dante’s nose. When that failed, he tried stomping, then went for another bite, movements becoming increasingly desperate as none found their mark.

Each failed attack sent satisfaction humming through Dante’s veins. He spent years dealing with Omegas in other territories who folded at the first show of force. Orion was a revelation, like discovering he’d been playing chess with children when he could have been fighting a worthy opponent.

And the best part? Orion had no idea what he was capable of. No frame of reference for what pleasure could feel like when delivered by competent hands. Dante was going to be the one to show him—the one to watch him discover exactly what his body could do.

“That’s it,” he murmured, easily blocking each attempt while keeping Orion thoroughly trapped. “There’s the fire I wanted to see. Leo never knew what to do with all that fight, did he?”

“Go to hell,” Orion panted, still struggling against the hold.

“Already there. You’re what makes it interesting.

” Dante’s free hand moved lower, thumb brushing over a nipple with just enough pressure to make Orion arch involuntarily against the wall.

“I wonder how sensitive you are right now. Bet I could make you come just from playing with these while I tell you exactly what I’m going to do to you when I take your virginity. ”

“You have no idea what you’re starting,” Orion warned, his voice ragged but edged with something almost like a promise.

“Enlighten me, then,” Dante challenged, his pulse quickening at the unexpected response. “Tell me what happens when someone finally breaks through that magnificent control of yours and you become desperate.”

“I’m not desperate for anything from you,” Orion spat, but his voice had gone breathless, his struggles becoming more about seeking friction than escape. Even now, his eyes calculated, searching for weaknesses, exits, possibilities—the mind of a tactician trapped in a body betraying him.

“No? Then why are you getting wetter every time I touch you?” Dante adjusted his stance, using his thigh to apply pressure where Orion needed it most. The room’s stark lighting caught the sweat on Orion’s collarbone, highlighting every tremor.

“I can feel it through your clothes. Bet if I slipped my hand down there right now, you’d be soaked, just waiting for me to claim what’s mine. ”

A flicker of something dangerous crossed Orion’s face—not just resistance but a hint of power that made Dante’s certainty waver for a fraction of a second.

“Fuck you,” Orion gasped, but his hips were still moving, seeking friction despite his obvious humiliation at the admission.

“I will. I’m going to be your first, and I’m going to make sure you never forget it.” Dante’s hand moved to Orion’s throat, not squeezing but just resting there, a reminder of who was in control. “Right now, I want to see how far I can push you. I want to watch you cum from just this.”

Orion tried to bite him again, his teeth snapping at Dante’s jaw with vicious intent. When that failed, he attempted to spit in Dante’s face, his fury reaching new heights as he continued to rut against Dante’s thigh, breathing harder and faster.

Christ, he’s perfect. And he didn’t even know what he was fighting—didn’t understand that his body was trying to drag him toward something he’s never experienced. No learned behaviors, no expectations. Just pure need meeting stubborn will.

The contradiction was intoxicating.

“That’s not very nice,” Dante observed with dark amusement. “Maybe I should teach you some manners before I teach you what it feels like to be properly fucked.”

His hand moved from Orion’s throat to his hair, gripping tight enough to force his head back against the wall.

“I’ll make you regret this,” Orion promised, though the words came out like a breathy moan.

“I’m counting on it,” Dante replied, excitement coursing through him at the promise of future retaliation. “But for now, just focus on using me to get yourself off.”

“I’m not—I won’t—” Orion’s denials were unconvincing, his body trembling with the effort of trying to hold back.

“Yes, you will. You’re going to cum for me right here against this wall, and then you’re going to think about it every time Leo tries to touch you.” Dante’s voice dropped to a whisper, his breath hot against Orion’s ear.

“No.” Orion gasped, but his movements became more erratic, more hurried, little grunts and moans escaping his parted lips.

“We’ll see.” Dante adjusted the angle of his thigh, pressing harder against Orion’s hurried movements. “Cum for me.”

“Stop talking,” Orion managed between gasps.

“No.” Dante’s grip on his hair tightened, forcing Orion to meet his gaze.

“You’re going to keep rubbing what I imagine is a beautiful cock against me until you stop fighting yourself and let me see that gorgeous face you make when you cum, all from me pressing you against a wall and telling you what I’m going to do when I claim you.

And afterwards, when you’re lying in this cage at night, you’re going to touch yourself thinking about my hands on you, wondering what it’s going to feel like when I take what’s mine. ”

The crude honesty seemed to break Orion’s resistance.

It took everything in Dante’s power to control himself as Orion’s legs began to shake, his entire body convulsing against the wall as he came with a broken sound that was half-curse, half-sob.

He wanted nothing more than to shove Orion to the ground and fill those pretty, swollen lips with him one inch at a time.

Dante held him through it, keeping him pinned and supported until the aftershocks faded and Orion’s breathing began to return to normal. When Orion’s eyes focused on him again, they carried pure, undiluted hatred.

“I hate you,” Orion whispered, his voice raw.

“Good,” Dante replied with dark satisfaction.

The hatred was perfect—it meant Orion understood exactly what had just happened, how his body betrayed his mind.

No confusion, no grateful submission. Just pure, crystalline fury at being made to feel something he didn’t want to feel.

“Use it. Channel all that fury into something productive.”

“I want to kill you.”

“Even better. Hold onto that feeling.” Dante stepped back, releasing Orion’s wrists but staying close enough to catch him if his legs gave out. Watching him process what had just happened was almost as satisfying as making it happen in the first place. “Anger will keep you sharp for what’s coming.”

Orion slumped against the wall, his chest still heaving. “What’s coming?”

“Leo’s timeline is accelerating. His supervisors—specifically Dr. Morrison—are pressuring him for results, both professionally and personally,” Dante said, his voice dropping to a clinical precision that contrasted sharply with his earlier heat.

“You know how these corporate exchange programs work, so you know I’m not just here for vaccine scaling. I’m here for Project Tether.”

He stepped back, allowing space for the information to land.

“Project Tether is designed specifically for cases like yours, so you need to decide if you want to come with me when I take it. Because if you stay, the worst case scenario is they use it on you before I can get to it, best case is I leave, but you are still trapped here and Leo finds a way to break you anyway. ”

Orion’s eyes narrowed as he processed the information. “How soon?”

“That depends on your heat, though I know SVI has a patent they’ve never used on a heat accelerant that can take that factor out of the equation.

” Dante watched Orion’s expression shift from humiliation to calculation in seconds—confirmation of exactly why he found him so fascinating.

“I can give you more suppressants, but those clearly aren’t working.

Which means you need to give Leo something convincing.

Some sign that his methods are working without surrendering anything meaningful. ”

Orion studied him with renewed intensity, looking for deception. “Why should I believe you? You’re Gensyn. Different corporation, same methods.”

“Because if I wanted a mindless Omega, I wouldn’t be interested in you.” The admission came out more honest than Dante intended. “Your defiance isn’t a flaw to correct. It’s...” He gestured between them, at the electricity still crackling in the air. “That’s the whole point.”

Orion’s eyes narrowed, weighing options and probabilities. “What do you need me to do?”

“Be strategically compliant with Leo. Basic instructions followed without warfare. Small gestures he can report as progress.” Dante’s voice softened. “I’m not asking you to break. I’m asking you to play a role—something you’re clearly capable of—just long enough for me to arrange extraction.”

“Extraction to where? Your corporate masters?” The skepticism in Orion’s voice was justified.

“One problem at a time,” Dante said. “First priority is keeping you away from Morrison’s department. ”

Orion was quiet for a long moment, the tactical calculations almost visible behind his eyes. Finally, he spoke, “This doesn’t make us allies.”

“No,” Dante agreed. “But it doesn’t make us enemies either.”