13. Ollie
Ollie let himself into the bathroom without knocking, steam hitting him in the face like a wet blanket, stealing the breath from his lungs and instantly making him sweat. Or maybe it was the sight of his mate, standing statue-still, under the stream. Ollie’s chest ached. Even with the glass fogged over, he could see Deke wasn’t washing himself. He wasn’t even crying. He was just…standing there.
“Baby?” Ollie said softly, uncertain Deke had even noticed his arrival.
His mate didn’t respond, didn’t acknowledge him in any way. Ollie didn’t give himself time to think, just stripped his clothes off quickly, pushing open the shower door and stepping inside. It was even hotter there, the water scalding, Deke’s skin flushed from the heat.
Ollie touched his back gently, feeling him jump beneath his touch. Only then did Deke look at him, glancing over his shoulder like he was uncertain how or when Ollie had arrived. He gave him a forced smile, like he wasn’t sure what else to do, then nodded like he was trying to assure him he was fine. His sour scent told Ollie he was lying.
Ollie’s heart twisted at the bleakness in his mate’s eyes and the way his chin momentarily quivered then stopped, like he was fighting back whatever emotion was trying to claw its way to the surface. He’d held it together so well on the way home, gripping Ollie’s hand tightly but otherwise appearing unaffected by the news as he stared out the window at the passing cars.
Ollie knew he wasn’t unaffected. Who would be? No matter how much someone hated their parents, there were bound to be mixed emotions when one died. Especially when they’d been the only parent left. Ollie wanted to hold him. He wanted to tell him that he could cry or scream or rage if he wanted. But he couldn’t force the words out past the lump in his throat.
Ollie didn’t know how to deal with emotions. Before Deke had changed him into an omega, he’d always let others do the heavy lifting when it came to comforting someone. Ollie had never been one for grieving; he tended to put his emotions in a box on a high shelf, only dusting them off on the rare occasions he’d had too much to drink.
Ollie preferred to use his time for the practicalities of death. When someone died, they left a massive amount of work behind. Someone had to collect the body, make arrangements with the morgue, plan a funeral, contact the life insurance people, handle all the paperwork that was needed. He was good at that. He could handle that.
With Deke, Ollie would have preferred to focus on the practicalities. While there was no funeral to plan or paperwork to handle, there were questions—questions Ollie desperately wanted answers for. For starters, how had Deke’s father died? What killed a seemingly healthy man who wasn’t even sixty? Was it a heart attack? A stroke? He did construction work, which was a labor intensive job. Was it an accident on-site? Had he overexerted himself?
He let all his invasive questions bounce around in his head, unasked. Today, his priority was Deke and making sure he was okay. As okay as he could be, anyway. Yes, Deke was an adult—a mated super-alpha even—but he was still only twenty-two years old and the universe had been shitting all over him lately. It was taking its toll. Ollie could see the sweet, bright, bold boy he’d fallen head over heels for fading away before his eyes and it was breaking his heart.
He pushed his own feelings down, reaching around Deke to grab the body wash from the alcove recessed into the tiles. He poured some into his hand, then began soaping up his mate, working perfunctorily, wanting to just get him clean so he could put him into some cozy clothes and comfort him. So their pack could comfort him.
Ollie had left them downstairs looking anxious and sad, giving them a tight smile, before trailing after Deke, who had muttered something about showering the moment they entered the house. He knew they were downstairs, huddled together, worried sick about Deke, but Ollie could only worry about his mate right now.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he worked, trying to wrap his head around how things had gone so wrong so quickly. He’d finally found something—as obscure as it was—on Deke’s enigma, only to have the news eclipsed by something far bigger. He wanted to tell the others, to show them what he’d found, hoping they might be able to make sense of what he couldn’t.
But now wasn’t the time.
Once clean, Ollie gently turned Deke to face him, taking the shampoo and scrubbing his hair, letting his blunt nails scrape along his scalp the way he liked before making him tilt his head back to rinse. Deke said nothing, did nothing, just allowed Ollie to push and pull him as he liked until the last of the conditioner was swirling down the drain.
Ollie made to shut off the water, but Deke dropped his forehead to his shoulder, then nuzzled his nose against his mating mark. Ollie’s heart stuttered as he stepped closer, bringing their bodies together so he could wrap his arms around him. That was when he noticed Deke was hard, his cock heavy against the crease of his hip. Ollie continued to stroke his back, murmuring nonsensical platitudes. Deke made no attempt to do anything about his current condition, so Ollie ignored it, holding him until the water grew tepid and their skin started to prune.
“Baby, we should get out,” Ollie finally said, combing fingers through his hair to pry his face away from his throat.
When Deke looked at him, his eyes were red and swollen like he’d been crying…or maybe Ollie had gotten soap in them in his haste. He didn’t see tears, but the water could have washed them away. Ollie cupped the alpha’s face, studying him closely, beads of water clinging to his long black lashes and his plush lips as he continued to look anywhere but at Ollie.
He sighed, once more making to reach around to turn off the water. Before he could, large hands were suddenly on his face, Deke’s mouth crashing into his. Ollie stumbled back with the force of it. His back hit the tile wall. Deke followed, crowding him against it until there was no space between them. Deke bit at his lips greedily, nipping hard enough to coax a sharp gasp from Ollie. The alpha’s kiss was determined, greedy, all teeth and tongue, his hands knotting in Ollie’s wet hair, moving him how he liked.
Heat shot through him, his cock filling so quickly it made him dizzy. The alpha’s thigh separated Ollie’s, pressing against him, and he gave a pleased rumble when he felt Ollie’s hard length against his leg. Ollie could only cling to him, half afraid he would slip and half afraid Deke would come to his senses and realize this wasn’t what he wanted at all.
His heart plummeted as Deke tore his mouth away, but it was only so he could explore, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, his cheek. His breath was ragged as he bit at the shell of Ollie’s ear, then sucked at his earlobe. Ollie’s fingers bit into Deke’s biceps, just trying to stay upright with his head swimming deliciously. Deke’s mouth traveled lower, teeth fitting into his mating mark, biting down just enough to have Ollie releasing an embarrassingly desperate whimper.
He’d never made that sound before Deke, but the alpha could drag it out of him anytime he liked. Especially when he was like this, hard and hungry, trying to swallow him whole in their shower. He knew everything about Ollie, inside and out. He knew just how to take him apart, body and soul.
Deke’s mouth found his again, biting his bottom lip, tugging at it before he licked inside. Deke couldn’t seem to get enough, his tongue moving over Ollie’s as his hands explored his body. The more Deke pushed him, the needier Ollie grew, until slick leaked down the backs of his thighs and precum smeared across Deke’s thigh each time Ollie rocked his hips, desperate for friction.
Deke’s hands slid down his body, cupping his ass, spreading him apart, fingers rubbing over his hole. He growled low against Ollie’s ear. “So wet for me.”
Before Ollie could even formulate any type of coherent response, Deke spun him around, slamming his chest into the tiles, driving the air from his lungs. Ollie stilled, letting Deke do as he pleased. The alpha’s mouth moved down his spine, biting and sucking hard at whatever skin he found along the way. Tomorrow, Ollie would be bruised everywhere Deke’s lips traveled. Ollie’s insides hummed at the thought. He loved being marked by his alpha. Something Ollie would never admit to another soul.
Ollie yelped as teeth sank into his ass cheek, then laved over the indentations. He craned his head to look back at the alpha, and could only just barely see Deke on his knees behind him. Another cry left him as Deke bit down again, then again, each bite deliberate. Ollie made a noise of complaint, but Deke only growled.
Deke’s hands grabbed his hips, pulling them away from the wall, making Ollie arch his back. The alpha cupped his ass, fingers digging in painfully, before spreading him open. Ollie waited for more, but nothing happened. It was like Deke was just staring at his hole, watching his slick leak out of him.
Another frustrated sound escaped that quickly turned into a choked gasp as Deke’s soft, wet tongue dragged across his rim. Ollie bit down on his bottom lip as Deke lapped at him, alternating between long slow licks, and short rapid flicks of his tongue, until tears welled in Ollie’s eyes. He reached down and gripped his cock, giving it a few harsh strokes just to quell the ache, but it only made him want more.
Ollie was almost positive Deke could read his mind. The alpha was on his feet again, mouthing at his mating mark as he dragged the head of his cock teasingly across Ollie’s softened entrance. Ollie moaned, pushing back against him, letting Deke know that he was his to take.
Still, Deke whispered, “I need you. Can I?”
Ollie gave a stilted nod, looking back at him over his shoulder. “Always.”
Deke snarled, claiming his mouth possessively, this kiss just as punishing as the last but messier, like he was losing what little control he had. Ollie cried out against Deke’s lips as the alpha buried himself without warning with one hard thrust.
Ollie’s heart hammered, his body adjusting to the sudden intrusion while Deke mouthed at his cheek. He wasn’t a beta any longer. His body didn’t need the lengthy prep like before. Omegas were designed to always be ready for their alpha. Always. But the stretch of Deke’s heavy cock inside him was always overwhelming, no matter how much they played beforehand.
It was impossible to put into words how Deke filling him up made him feel, how the ache of it made him throb, made him feel whole. Like they were a completed circuit that made his body light up with indescribable pleasure.
Ollie’s head fell forward as Deke released his mouth. He set a brutal pace from the start, gripping Ollie’s hips so hard he thought his bones might bruise. Ollie’s mouth fell open, every hard thrust driving a gasp from him. What would the others think if they could see him? If they could see how easy he was for his baby alpha, mouth gaping, cheek pressed to the tiles hard enough to bruise, fighting just to remain upright, letting his mate use him as his personal fuck doll?
He didn’t try to touch himself; he didn’t need to. The angle had Deke’s cock dragging across his prostate with every thrust, setting off sparks behind his eyelids with every frantic drive of his hips. Ollie didn’t care that he was drooling on himself. He couldn’t close his mouth, couldn’t stop the needy, pathetic sounds pouring from his lips, so loud even over the rush of water hitting Deke and the floor.
Deke was just…taking him, rutting into him with a singular purpose. It felt good. Amazing, really. Deke knew just what to do, knew just how to melt Ollie’s insides until he felt boneless, weightless, barely corporeal. Ollie had never had anyone use him like this. He’d never had anyone need him like this.
Deke needed him, not just now but always. Deke was obsessed with him. Ollie would be lying if he said that wasn’t a heady feeling. There was a sick satisfaction in knowing that he was the only thing that could make Deke feel better. But the same was true for Ollie. As much as it pained him to admit it, there was no him without Deke. Ollie had fought his whole life for independence, never realizing Deke’s name was already carved into his soul long before either of them were born.
Ollie couldn’t stop the hiss that left him as Deke’s knot began to swell, stretching him with each brutal slap of skin-on-skin until it was too big, battering against his entrance. The alpha didn’t slow his pace, but sped up, chasing his pleasure, whining low in Ollie’s ear as he frantically tried to lock himself inside the tight heat of Ollie’s body.
Ollie braced his arm on the tiles, pressing his forehead against it, grimacing as Deke gripped his hips hard, driving inside him one final time. Pain lanced through him, searing then dull, as his rim stretched impossibly around the intrusion. Deke’s knot locked inside him, still swelling, making Ollie’s knees weak.
The alpha continued to grind his hips against him in short, shallow thrusts, desperate to come. Ollie’s eyes rolled, another moan escaping as Deke’s knot pressed perfectly against that tiny bundle of nerves, massaging him from the inside with every movement.
Ollie jumped in surprise as Deke’s fist closed around his painfully neglected cock, jerking him with no finesse. Ollie didn’t care. He was too far gone to need it. With Deke’s hand and his knot working in tandem, it only took a handful of strokes before he cried out, releasing onto the tiles in front of him.
Ollie was still riding out his own orgasm when Deke’s teeth sank into his mark, breaking the skin as he came with a grunt, continuing to roll his hips as he filled Ollie up.
Ollie didn’t move, couldn’t really, not with Deke draped over his back, licking over the reopened wound he created. The water was cold now, the sound of it having a white noise effect that made Ollie’s thoughts fuzzy. They stood there, tied together, until their breathing slowed, syncing until it felt like they were just one person. Ollie felt a twinge of…something. He loved being this close to Deke but hated that he couldn’t see his face, couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling.
Has this helped at all?
Ollie knew the exact moment Deke came back to himself, his body freezing behind Ollie, both hands coming up to cover his lower abdomen.
“Oh, fuck. Fuck. Are—Are you okay?” he asked, stumbling over his words. “Is the baby… Did I hurt you? Was I too rough?”
The baby.
His heart hitched at those two words. The baby. His baby. Their baby. The one everyone—including him—knew was in there. At that moment, he felt stupid. Stupid for trying to ignore it, stupid for thinking the problem would solve itself. In the wake of Deke’s father’s death, ignoring the life inside him felt selfish…mean. His baby deserved better.
Tears pricked at his eyes, but he blinked them away. “I’m fine,” he promised. “We-We’re fine.”
“I’m sorry,” Deke whispered, moving his hands higher to close his arms around him, hugging him tighter as he spoke the words against his skin. “I-I don’t know why I did that.”
Because you’re grieving. Because you’re confused.
Ollie didn’t say those things out loud, though. He knew Deke would just deny them. And Ollie wasn’t going to argue with him about his own feelings.
“It’s fine, baby. Really. We’re fine. It was good. You made me feel…so good. I promise.”
Deke didn’t answer, just continued to hold him until his knot slipped free. Ollie made a face as slick and cum flowed from his abused hole. He cried out, glaring at Deke as he gently pushed Ollie under the frigid water. Goosebumps erupted along his skin as Deke gently washed away the evidence of their encounter.
Once they were toweled off, Ollie helped Deke dress, surprised when he chose Ollie’s black basketball shorts and Loch’s dirty flannel. It was a silly combination but that hardly mattered. Ollie finger combed Deke’s curls into something manageable, knowing that when they dried, the alpha would look like a fuzzy baby chick regardless.
Deke insisted on helping him dress, too. Ollie let him pull a pair of black joggers up his legs, something that wasn’t tight across his belly, then found a gray v-neck tee, pulling it over his head. When Deke offered up one of his hoodies, Ollie accepted it, tugging the hood up to hide his own messy hair.
“Why don’t you go downstairs, baby? I’ll be there in a minute, okay?” Ollie said, giving him a soft smile.
Deke shook his head. “I can wait for you.”
Ollie kissed him softly, then gave him a gentle push. “I know. I just need a minute alone. And the others are probably worried about you. They’ll want to know you’re okay.”
Deke gave him wide puppy eyes, then wrapped his arms around him in a hug that gave Ollie that tight feeling in his chest, like his heart no longer fit behind his ribs. “I don’t want to go without you.”
Ollie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Please? Ten minutes. I just need ten minutes and I’ll be down. I promise.”
Deke sighed, stepping back to meet his gaze, face pulling with exhaustion. “Ten minutes, then I’m coming to get you if you’re not down there.”
Ollie kissed his forehead. “Deal.”