Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Emory
Well, he’d never made someone blackout with his knot before.
Emory carefully rolled himself over, clutching a passed-out Cameron to his chest. He did his best not to jostle him with his knot, and when he finally got them situated, with Cameron resting peacefully on his chest, he let out a relieved breath.
His lion was as proud as can be, and Emory could admit he was also feeling a bone-deep satisfaction—at least physically. He had his well-fucked fated mate in his arms, and his cock was nestled deep inside his warmth.
Mentally, however, he was replaying every moment of their evening together, starting in his office, moving chaotically into his bedroom—he glanced at his mangled door frame and sighed—culminating in two rounds of mind-blowing sex, and then…
And then he’d fucked Cameron with his knot, something he had never done before with any lover, during his rut or otherwise.
Typically, he knotted his toy and fucked it until he was satisfied.
He had been in control enough not to go anywhere near Cameron’s neck with his teeth, and he had been careful not to let his claws out except to tear off Cameron’s pretty panties.
But when he’d popped his knot, he lost all sense, wanting nothing but to satisfy his mate—something he had also never thought about during rut before.
Perhaps that was the difference between being an adult in rut versus a clueless teenager.
Or maybe this was just what it was like rutting with a fated mate.
When he’d been alone in the office, he’d felt nearly out of his mind with lust and need, but with Cameron, he’d felt more in control and able to satisfy both himself and his mate.
His fated mate. Not actual mate because, as Emory was well aware, they still weren’t mated.
Maybe tonight would get them one step closer.
There had been a wonderful sense of freedom and connection in not having to think about how he was touching his fated mate.
Every touch and caress had been received with smiles, moans, and pleasurable sighs.
It seemed like, for tonight at least, Cameron welcomed every intimacy, no matter how small.
For some reason, it seemed like the opposite wasn’t true.
It was almost as if Cameron would go to touch Emory or do something to him, only to pull back.
It also seemed like he’d been holding his tongue…
that is, until Emory had fucked him with his knot, eliciting delicious screams Emory could still hear in his head.
He added it to his mental list of things he should probably discuss with Cameron when he woke up.
If he woke up.
Emory’s lion huffed at him and flicked his tail in annoyance.
His lion wanted to preen and prance around, not face the consequences of their little fuckfest, which had resulted in their sweet, beautiful Cameron passing out.
He’d had omegas pass out from pleasure before, but it was always during their heats, not Emory’s rut.
Again, this was why he usually took rut suppressants, so he didn’t have to deal with all this stress.
Speaking of stress, he idly wondered how the rest of the gala had gone. He reached for his phone, only to realize it was in his pile of clothes back in the foyer.
Emory was pretty certain his lion actually rolled his eyes at him.
Right. He probably shouldn’t be thinking about work right now.
Emory brought his stretched-out hand to Cameron’s back in consternation, rubbing soothing circles into his damp skin.
He was so much smaller than Emory, with a bit of muscle in his shoulders and arms, but very little down his back.
His grip, with both his arms and legs, was shockingly strong, but he supposed that was that octopus strength Cameron had mentioned.
He ran his fingers down Cameron’s spine and to his ass, gently sliding between his cheeks to trace the taut skin of his hole where it was stretched wide around Emory’s cock.
His knot gave a slight pulse inside Cameron, eliciting a quiet groan from the omega.
Cameron shifted his hips, pressing down on the knot as he opened his eyes.
Emory froze, his fingers still between Cameron’s cheeks. Their eyes met, and Cameron’s lips slowly curled into a smirk. “Trying to fit a finger in there while I’m asleep?”
Emory yanked his hand back and laid it in the small of Cameron’s back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…well, I didn’t mean to knock you out in the first place, and then I really didn’t mean to wake you up with my fingers…” he trailed off, a blush working its way across his cheeks.
Cameron was absolutely breathtaking when he blushed.
It set off his freckles and contrasted with his hair in a way that Emory wanted to commission paintings of.
When Emory blushed, it felt more like a shameful tell he needed to hide.
He couldn’t very well blush his way through stakeholder meetings or vendor negotiations.
Cameron lifted his head, his eyes tracing over Emory’s cheeks, until his smirk turned into a softer, sweeter thing. “I’m just teasing. I didn’t mind—either the knocking me out part or the waking me up part. It felt… Gods, Emory, it felt so good. You feel so good.”
Emory’s lion gave a triumphant roar, and Emory couldn’t stop a toothy grin from splitting across his face. “Yeah?”
Cameron laughed softly. “Yeah.”
He shifted around, slowly rising up into a sitting position, still straddling Emory’s hips, balancing with his small hands on Emory’s ribs.
“How long does your knot usually last?”
Emory hummed in thought but was careful not to shift his hips. “It should be about done. Be careful not to move too much, though, or it will take a bit longer.”
Emory settled his hands heavily on Cameron’s legs, allowing himself a moment to appreciate how large they looked on his slim thighs. Cameron stared at Emory’s hands, placing both of his on top of Emory’s, smiling when the tips of his fingers only reached Emory’s knuckles.
“My octopus likes that you’re so much bigger than us. It makes him feel safe.”
Emory’s eyes widened, and his lion stopped preening. He sat down on his haunches and tilted his head in confusion. “I have to admit, I would not expect you to feel that way,” Emory said slowly. Cameron opened his mouth to speak, but Emory quickly added, “You or your octopus.”
Cameron dropped his chin to his chest and continued staring at their hands. “Do you remember what it was like before your dad died?”
Emory’s fingers twitched involuntarily, but he made sure to keep a loose grip on Cameron’s legs. “Of course I do. It was not all that long ago.”
“So…you remember a time before you were so clearly overworked and overstressed?”
Emory wasn’t sure where this line of questioning was coming from.
It sounded like he was borrowing talking points from Christopher and Ronan.
“I do, yes. Sometimes, I think that might actually contribute to my stress and overwhelm. I still remember a time when maintaining a healthy work/life balance was easy. That being said, I promise I’m going to try harder to–”
“I don’t remember a time before my biological parents hurt me,” Cameron interrupted, and Emory snapped his mouth closed.
Cameron’s fingers fidgeted, but just like Emory, he kept his grip loose.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of the trauma I have from my parents, and thank the gods I truly don’t remember most of what happened.
But Thomas… I remember what it was like before him.
I remember what it was like to at least somewhat believe in fate.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been skeptical, but I was also a bit hopeful that maybe things could work out better for me than they did for my bio parents. ”
Cameron’s palms were sweating against Emory’s hand, but he didn’t dare move, lest he scare away this admission.
“Thomas…broke that in me,” Cameron continued in almost a whisper.
“At least for a while. He broke a lot of things in me, but I’m slowly putting all the pieces back together and refiguring things out, like my gender and how I want to be in relationships with not just a mate but also with friends.
As I do all that, I’m rediscovering some of that hope in fate again. ”
He lifted his head and stared right into Emory’s eyes.
“I think it may always be important for me to feel like I can take care of myself, whether that be monetarily, physically, or emotionally, but it would be nice to have a partner I can lean on. Someone who’s strong and caring and conscientious of me, and some of my more… challenging needs.”
Emory gently squeezed Cameron’s legs. “First of all, I don’t find any of your needs to be challenging. I have definitely picked up on your need for independence. I have to admit, your need to be cared for has been a little less apparent, but—”
Emory’s knot chose that moment to release. His cock slid easily out as Cameron lifted onto his knees. Emory sat up, swiftly wrapping his arms around Cameron’s lower back to pull him into a hug.
Cameron tensed, but then just as quickly relaxed into Emory’s arms.
“But,” Emory continued. “I would love the opportunity to be that person for you. Someone you can lean on and rely on. Someone who will care for you and care about you without trying to control you.”
Cameron tilted his head up just as Emory leaned down, and they met in the middle, their lips nudging and brushing, more a caress than a kiss. “I think I’d like that,” Cameron whispered.
Emory turned his head to check the time on his alarm clock. “It’s almost midnight, and I’m not sure about you, but it’s been quite a while since I last had anything to eat or drink. I usually get a little bit of a break after knotting. Can I make us both something to eat?”
Cameron pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. “That would be great.”