Chapter 15
Fifteen
Brady
By the time we’d finished dinner, I was ready for dessert, preferably eaten off Xavi in his house where no one could interrupt us. I wanted to really savor our time together.
Being out, holding hands, doing couple things with my man was the best!
I felt lighter than air, as if the weight of the last…
year? Had slipped off me. How had more than a year passed without my noticing?
It made sense, though. We didn’t have all that long before the wedding, and Jae had been in early pregnancy when everything with Gio fell apart.
By the time Jae got married, Leo would be ten months old! Time was slipping by so fast!
Xavier paid the bill and wrapped an arm around my waist as we walked to the car. His grip was firm, as if he were afraid I would vanish without him holding onto me. At the car, he opened the door for me and kissed me, long and slow, before darting around to the driver’s side.
The journey to his house was mercifully short. I wanted to be under him immediately. My pheromones flooded the car, making Xavi tighten his fingers around the steering wheel.
“Brady, my love, you need to stop that or I’m going to crash the car.”
With difficulty, I pulled them back. I opened a window for good measure.
Minutes later, Xavier pulled into his driveway. Somehow we made it into the house. I wasn’t sure if Xavier parked properly or even locked the car. We were too caught up in getting inside to even pay attention to trivial things.
I pulled off clothes on the way to the bedroom without waiting for Xavier to even close the door. My hole was slick, ready to be filled. The last time, the only time, I’d been in his house, I didn’t get to feel him inside me, a mistake I wouldn’t repeat.
Xavier followed me, leaving a trail of his own clothes. Just before I stepped into the bedroom, Xavi caught my wrist and pulled me into him. His arms wrapped around me while his mouth sought mine. His kiss was fierce, his hands searching as he mapped my body, never lingering in one place for long.
He lifted me, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist and held me there, his hands kneading my ass. With a couple of steps he was at the bed where he laid me down, his weight pressing on top of me. His fingers found my slick hole and slid inside with ease.
I clutched at him, moaning against his neck as he stretched me to take him. It wouldn’t take much since I’d used a toy in the shower, just in case. Okay, we were always going to end here, with me under Xavier begging for his cock.
“Please,” I panted against the burn. He had three fingers inside me already, seemingly just as impatient as I was.
Xavier hiked my leg higher, notched his cock at my hole and pushed inside. “Fuuuck!” I cried as he bottomed out. With barely a second to breathe and adjust, he thrust. I swear I saw stars.
It was rough, but oh so perfect. I held him close and sucked marks into his neck in between gasping for breath.
Xavier pumped relentlessly, almost shoving me up the bed.
He held my shoulders and grunted in my ear, clutching me to him with such raw need that tears welled in my eyes.
This was desperation. I felt how much he needed me in every savage thrust.
My cock was trapped between us, the friction of his stomach and the pounding inside me already had me on edge. “Gonna come!”
Without a single touch, I came shouting his name. Xavier continued to fuck me into the mattress, his sweat mixing with my come on my stomach. I held him tighter, feeling so high I wasn’t sure I could feel my toes. “Give me your knot,” I whispered into his ear before nipping it.
His knot swelled, locking us together just moments before his release filled my ass. The flood of pheromones and come hit me like a truck and I spurted once more before blacking out.
By the time I woke, Xavier had slipped from my body. “There you are,” he murmured in an affectionate tone. He passed a damp cloth over my balls and down my taint. “Fuck, I missed being with you.”
I reached out to him, needing him close. “Same. Now come cuddle.” He threw the cloth into the hamper with a chuckle, but didn’t fight me further.
We lay there for a while until Xavier pulled the blanket over us. He kissed my temple and rubbed a hand over my cool skin. “What should we do for our second date?”
For a long time we lay there, curled around each other, making plans.
Before, when we were doing the friends with benefits thing, we didn’t do this.
Lingering was a no go. It was fuck, cuddle, then go home.
It suited me then because I needed the walls to protect myself when I feared Xavier would go back to Gio.
Now I could relax and truly enjoy being with Xavier.
“We should sleep if you want to hit the pool tomorrow morning.” Xavier’s voice was husky as he ran his hand over the curve of my ass. “Unless…”
“Yes?” I raised my ass, wanting more of his touch.
He didn’t respond. He kissed a line down my spine and pushed my cheeks apart.
His tongue ran down my crack and over my hole.
I let out a strangled moan as he pushed his tongue inside me.
My cock hardened as he ate at my hole then reached up to share his come and my slick with me.
I tasted our shared essence as Xavier sank his cock inside me once more.
This time, it was slow and sweet. Xavier rocked into me, whispering words of praise, telling me how much he loved me. He brought me to orgasm twice before he came, his knot tying us once more.
We stayed that way, drifting off to sleep until his cock softened and slipped from me. Xavier sleepily moved us out of the wet spot and went back to sleep. I stayed awake a little longer, watching his breath rise and fall until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
In the morning, we made it to the pool and had to establish our first rule afterwards: no sharing a cubicle.
Things had gotten hot and heavy between us until I’d gotten to my knees—I would not recommend that on tile—and we nearly got caught.
We left with red faces and finished up the blow job in his shower, with Xavier returning the favor before the water went cold.
So no sharing at the pool or the gym.
Over the weeks that followed, we made space for each other in our pretty busy lives.
Outside of work, I had wedding planning to do and a new baby in the family to prepare for.
The gym I went to was closer to Xavier’s office, so he moved membership there so we could work out together in the morning.
We ate together pretty much every night unless he had a work dinner, or I had a planning thing with Jae.
It felt natural to sleep over at his place or have him stay with me. We rarely slept alone, even on nights when we had other plans first. It quickly became obvious that neither of us could sleep alone.
Our biggest challenge came just days before our meeting with the fertility doctor.
It was time for us to meet each other’s families.
Needless to say, I was nervous. True, Xavier had sort of met my family before, and I’d spent time with his at his birthday party, but this was getting both sets together at the same time and also the big “we’re seriously dating” reveal.
We opted for a big family cookout in Xavier’s backyard since we knew it was large enough for that many people. We had both sets of parents, my twin brothers minus their mate who was on bed rest, my sister and her roommate, and Xavier’s sister with her new boyfriend.
I felt terrible for my brothers because they had wanted to introduce their mate finally after months of hiding him away.
All I knew was that he already had a kid and was older than them.
Noah and Seth wouldn’t even tell me his name!
I just wanted to look out for them, but they were set on hiding this omega away until he was ready.
Which, fair, my family could be intense, and I’d always made a point of getting to know my brothers’ friends.
From what they said, their omega was understandably nervous about meeting such a tight-knit family when he didn’t have anyone aside from a couple of close friends.
He was very aware of their age gap, considering the twins were only twenty-three and he was in his thirties.
Seriously, with how reluctant they made him sound, it was a wonder that they were moving in together to raise the baby as a family.
Our guests all arrived about the same time, as if they were as anxious as we were.
I knew from the outset that everything was going to be fine.
Only a few minutes after meeting each other, my mom and Xavi’s mama were chatting like old friends.
My dad and his mom were taking over in the kitchen and comparing the dishes they’d brought.
And our sisters? Best friends, right off the bat.
My brothers had even stolen my boyfriend to make suggestions about the security of his house.
I swear I heard Noah say, “If Brady’s going to live here, then you need some cameras for his safety. ” Xavier just nodded agreeably.
There were no big speeches or anything, only an understanding that we were important to each other. Without having to voice it, everyone knew we were in love and were talking about starting a family. It made for a really nice, relaxed afternoon.
Right before the end, when everyone was starting to file out, Xavier’s mama pulled me aside.
She hugged me close, not the respectable, feigning closeness sort of hug, the real, loving kind from someone who truly likes you.
The feeling sank into my heart and almost brought tears to my eyes.
“I’m so glad you gave him another chance.
He loves you so much,” she whispered, sounding almost as choked up as I was.
“Yeah, he was persistent. I needed him to show me why I fell in love with him.”
Stacy pulled away to study me. She held onto my arms while she spoke. “When you argue, and you will, speak from kindness, not anger. Remember, you love each other first. Celebrate all the little things because they will keep you going when things get hard.”
“I will.”
“Good. So happy to have you join our family, Brady.”
Somehow she made it sound like we were already mated or married. “We’re—”
“You don’t need a mating mark or marriage certificate to be one of us.” Stacy turned me so I could catch a glimpse of Xavier speaking to my dad. “He’s always looking for you. I’ve never seen him so in love.”
“Not even with…?”
“No, he loved him plenty, don’t get me wrong. Just not this kind of love. He’s restless without you near. Now go on, enjoy the rest of your day off together. Let us know how the appointment goes.”
Xavier’s arms wrapped around me as I waved off the last of our guests. “I think that went well.”
“Our sisters might be a problem.”
He laughed before pressing a kiss against my scent gland, something I’d noticed he was doing more of. “Yeah. As long as they’re on our side, we’ll be fine.”
I was grateful the doctor could fit us in as the first appointment of the day because there was no way I’d have survived work otherwise. My anxiety was high, I’d barely slept, and I felt vaguely nauseous.
Xavier was there to hold me steady, though. He held my hand and let me bounce my leg in the waiting room without comment. He didn’t waste time with platitudes either, which I appreciated since I wasn’t in the right headspace to listen to them and react well.
The clinic was fairly busy for before nine on a Monday morning, but we didn’t have to wait long to be called through. Our appointment was with Dr. Anna Glover, a specialist in omega fertility, who listened to everything I said with a sympathetic ear.
“Well, I won’t tell you there’s no reason to worry about your chances of becoming pregnant because I know you’ll worry regardless,” she said in a pleasant, if not teasing, voice.
Her manner put me at ease right away. “Given your family history, it’s worth taking some blood and scanning you.
We’ve already scheduled both for this appointment because your heat is so close.
” She took a blood draw kit from a drawer.
“Shall we start with the blood test? Is that alright?”
Dr. Glover was gentle and efficient as she took a sample of my blood, bandaged it, and took the sample to the reader.
“Now, this won’t tell us everything, such as any potential genetic conditions.
It will tell us if you have any iron deficiency, or anything we need to deal with now.
Ideally, I’d like to take samples from you both down the line.
At this initial appointment, though, we’ll just check you, Brady. ”
The machine did its thing, and gave out a reading which the doctor studied for a minute.
She turned to us with a bright smile. “As I thought, there’s nothing of concern here.
Normally I’d take your blood pressure, but I can already tell from your pheromones that it’s high due to stress.
Would you mind taking a reading before you head out to be sure? ”
I shook my head. “No, that’s fine. Sorry, I barely slept. Normally, I have better control.”
She stopped me from rambling. “It’s alright, Brady.
Completely understandable. I only caught them because I was so close to you.
The scrubbers catch most of them.” Pretty much all buildings had pheromone scrubbers to filter out all the pheromones alphas and omegas released during the day, especially when they were feeling strong emotions.
“Okay, could you hop up on the bed there? I want to give you a scan.”
My legs nearly went out from under me when the doctor confirmed there was nothing to suggest I’d have problems staying pregnant. No blockages, no malformed organs. A perfect bill of health.
“What I’d like to do is prescribe you a hormone to boost your chances of an egg being released.
An omega does not always release an egg when in heat.
This could be what is happening to you. Without more tests, I can’t say that for sure.
For most omegas, one tablet a day in the week running up to your heat is all they need.
I suspect, given your family history, that this is the case for you.
Yes, recessive omegas can have problems getting pregnant, but as I said, all they need is a boost. If Xavier were recessive, then I’d suggest something for sperm production, but he’s come back as a regular alpha, so there should be no problem there. ”
“So I just take this and I could get pregnant?”
“Yes. Please come back after your heat for more detailed testing, though I suspect that won’t be necessary given how tightly your pheromones mesh.” Dr. Glover smiled brightly. “I’m confident you won’t need my services until you plan your next baby.”