Chapter 16
. . .
BEAU
Shutting the oven door closed with my hip, I release a soft groan and roll my shoulder carefully.
All things considered, it doesn’t hurt as bad as I’d expected after five days of marathon sex.
I would never tell them, but the part that hurt the most was when both Archer and Ruby fell asleep curled up against me and I couldn’t bear to move them despite the position making my shoulder yell at me.
It’s nothing some ibuprofen and a heat pad for a day or two won’t sort out.
I breathe in deeply and can’t help the dopey smile that forms on my lips. Even after my quick shower, their scents linger on me.
Yes, this was absolutely worth any pain.
Now that the French toast casserole is in the oven, I set about cooking the bacon.
Archer’s kitchen is tiny, but he seems to enjoy cooking if his assortment of good-quality pots and pans is any indication.
Though maybe not, because I had to do a grocery drop-off order because his fridge was pretty sparse.
It made my alpha grumble when I first escaped the nest during a brief respite from the heat to raid his kitchen and saw how little food the omega has in his house. He needs to take better care of himself. If he’d been better about eating regularly, he might not have had his suppressants fail.
And then you never would’ve met him, dumbass.
I add cooking and eating habits to my mental list of things to ask Archer about himself. After spending days together in his nest learning his body, I’m starved for information about who he is as a person.
I definitely don’t enjoy thinking about him needing anything or being deprived. If it’s a financial thing, I’ll send him groceries. If he doesn’t want to accept that, they can be a courting gift.
Or is that too weird? Does he even want to be courted by me?
Shit. Here I am, planning for a future no one else has agreed to pursue. Setting myself up for heartbreak. Because now that I’ve been with these two omegas, my scent matches, how the fuck am I supposed to move on?
I’d use my affirmations card to ground myself, but my wallet is in my pants pocket, strewn somewhere in the nest where the omegas are napping after our shower.
As the bacon sizzles, I practice deep breathing and try to remind myself that imagining the worst-case scenario as if it’s already happened won’t make that pain any duller if it does happen.
That it’s okay for me to have hope. And if they come out here and give me the whole “well that was fun, but I’m not interested in anything serious” talk, I’ll survive.
I’m not a twenty-one-year-old starving for affection and support and knee-deep in surgery recovery, addiction, and untreated depression.
I’m a grown man with a sister who would do anything for me, an excellent therapist, coping mechanisms and meds, and lots of people who like and care about me on my hockey team and at the animal shelter.
My phone screen lights up where it’s sitting on the counter next to the stove. It’s another text from Nadine. I sent her a quick message before we got too deep into the heat, and she sent a nonstop stream of questions that she should know I didn’t have time to answer.
Nadine: You alive? Or did the heat kill you?
I snort. There were definitely times when I was exhausted, but it was incredible. I’ve never felt more connected to anyone, never felt more at peace with my alpha.
Beau: I’m alive.
The typing bubble appears immediately, and I can easily imagine Nadine’s scowl as she furiously works on her reply. I shake my head when I get a wall of text back.
Nadine: Seriously? That’s it? You help a mystery omega you just met with his first heat after a blind date with another omega, and all I get when it’s done is, “I’m alive.
” I need more! Tell me about them. How did the date go?
How did you meet this other omega? Is Ruby your scent match?
Why did the other omega go into heat? Why did you help him?
Did he take one look at you and want to climb you like a tree?
Because I’ve been telling you, dude, you’re a catch.
Any omega would be lucky to have you. Are you icing your balls?
I’ve heard that it can help with recovery time after intense heats. How is your shoulder? Are you okay?
Beau: I’m fine. My shoulder is a little sore, but okay. I’m not going to talk to you about my balls or anything involving what happened during the heat. As for the rest of it, I’ll call you once I’m back at my place. But I promise I’m fine.
Beau: The other omega’s name is Archer. He’s my scent match. So is Ruby.
I set my phone back down to flip the bacon, only for it to rattle against the counter as it rings with an incoming call from Nadine.
I roll my eyes and put the phone on do not disturb.
I love my sister, but I need a little longer to be in this moment.
I need to know what happens next before she pesters me for details.
“Mmm, something smells good.”
I look up from my phone to see a mussed, sleepy Archer emerging from the nest. His pajama pants are slung low on his narrow hips, revealing the sliver of stomach and thin trail of dark hair that I’ve traced from his belly button down to his…
I can’t seriously be getting turned on again. I thought my dick would be out of commission for at least one full business week.
Archer smiles, shy and sweet as he notices me checking him out.
God, is it possible he got even more handsome in the hour since I left the nest to let him nap? My fingers twitch, wanting to reach out and pull him against me.
“I’m making breakfast.” I glance at the clock. “Or uh, brunch. Figured you must be starving after…”
Archer nods. “I am. I woke up because my stomach was growling and followed my nose out here. Didn’t expect to find you by the stove, looking like an omega’s wet dream.”
I let out a startled huff, and Archer laughs. “Or maybe that’s just my dream. A big, sexy alpha in his boxers, cooking me breakfast meats.”
“There’s French toast casserole in the oven, too.” I should’ve told him that his whole sleepy omega look was my dream, but I’m chronically unsmooth so it’d probably have seemed awkward.
“Don’t say things like that,” Archer says with a soft groan, moving closer.
“Why not?” I ask, heart pumping faster as he reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder.
He grins. “Because I’ll fall in love with you.” It’s said teasingly, but there’s a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes that surprises me. “I’m a sucker for a partner that cooks,” he adds softly.
“I love to cook.” It’s a struggle not to let my voice betray how hopeful his words make me.
He nods, and I notice his hand is trembling a little as he slides it up to my shoulder.
I reach up and take it in mine, squeezing his hand reassuringly and pressing a kiss to it. His eyelashes flutter, and he releases a shaky breath. “Are you as fucking nervous about this as I am?” I murmur, praying I’m not misreading him.
The relief that washes over Archer’s face has me melting for him. “Yes. I don’t want to screw things up. I don’t know what to expect now that the heat is over…What happens next…”
It takes everything in me not to turn the question back on him and ask him what he wants in an effort to protect myself from being hurt. “Do you want me to tell you what I’d like to happen next?”
Archer nods eagerly. “Please.”
I swallow against the lump of emotion and worry in my throat. “I want to keep seeing you and Ruby. I want to court you both. I want to learn everything there is to know about you; however long it takes. I want to be your alpha.”
Archer’s eyes are wide, but I don’t let myself backtrack.
“You don’t know me and I don’t know you, and honestly if you’d told me a week ago that I’d be head-over-heels for two omegas I just met, I’d have thought you were crazy.
” He chuckles at that, a warm smile lighting up his face.
“But, as bizarre as it sounds, I know what my soul is telling me. It’s saying that you’re both mine, and I’ll do anything I can to prove to you I can be worthy of being your alpha. ”
There’s a stomach-churning moment of silence as Archer gazes up at me, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “Beau, is it okay if I kiss you?”
I nod, tears welling in my eyes too. Archer wraps his hands behind my neck, and I slide mine around his waist, and we both cautiously close the distance, like it’s our first kiss.
And maybe it is, because it’s the first one where we both know for certain that it’s not happening because of heat hormones.
It’s the sweetest kiss of my life, his lips against mine seeming like a soft agreement to everything I’ve said.
Which he confirms when he pulls back a little and smiles at me.
“I want all of that. We can go at whatever pace feels right, but I’m…
” His smile grows and he strokes my cheek.
“I’m not scared. I’m ready to go all in. ”
I can’t keep the tears back. They slide down and wet my beard as I grin back at him. “Yeah?”
He kisses me again, soft and brief, but no less wonderful. “Yeah. Maybe we can start with a date? I’m a little jealous that you and Ruby got to have the whole romantic V-day dinner, while I was stuck with that creep.”
A small growl rumbles out of me at the mention of his awful date, and I cough to cover it, but Archer laughs. “I’ll take you on a date. As many dates as you want.”
He nods, eyes sparkling with happiness. “Perfect. I’m sure Ruby will want more, too.”
My stomach clenches, worry returning. “You think?”
There’s no hesitation in Archer’s reply. “Yes.”
“How can you be so certain?”
His smile turns coy. “We may have talked about it some when we woke up. If you don’t believe me, we can ask her.”
“Ask me what? Fuuuck, that smells good.” Ruby’s moan is pornographic, and the robe she’s wrapped around her barely closes in the front, exposing her luscious thighs and the swell of her breasts.
A confusing mix of anxiety and arousal swirls in my gut. I look back down at the pan to hide my blush, thankfully in time to catch the bacon before it burns.
Archer turns to face Ruby. “We were talking about what comes next.”
One of her eyebrows lifts. “Oh yeah? What’s the verdict?” Her posture is relaxed, but for all her seeming casualness, there’s a thread of tension in her voice.
“He’s in.”
Ruby’s face lights up with a brilliant smile at Archer’s words, and my heart soars.
“Told you he would be, sweetheart.” She reaches out and pulls Archer into a hug, scent-marking him with her cheek.
The sound of their combined purrs has mine coming to life, and Ruby reaches a hand toward me with a grabbing motion. “Get in here, handsome.”
I go to them, wrapping my arms around the two omegas snuggled together, basking in the rightness of us all together and the relief that it doesn’t have to end yet. Maybe never if things go as I hope.
When we eventually separate, Ruby tugs me to her and plants a kiss on my lips that leaves me a little dizzy. “In case it wasn’t clear, I want to see where this goes.”
“I do too,” I say hoarsely.
She pats my cheek. “Good, then we’re all in agreement. Nothing to worry about right now.”
Archer huffs. “Uh, sorry, but I’m a pro at worrying.
I think I’ll be worried until we’re bonded and officially packed up.
” His cheeks grow pink. “Not that I’m assuming that will happen.
We’ll go slow. Make sure that we’re compatible beyond…
the physical.” His blush deepens. “Crap, now I’m worrying even more. ”
Ruby and I each take one of his hands, in an unspoken coordination that we’ve perfected over the past few days of caring for him. “I’ll be right here worrying with you.”
Ruby chuckles. “Me too, but I think that might be a good thing? Worrying means we care. That this means something to us and we don’t want to fuck it up.”
This means more to me than I can express. A chance to have what I assumed wasn’t in the cards for me, with two brilliant omegas.
I thread my fingers through Ruby’s, completing our hand-holding loop. “Yeah, this means something.”
It means everything.