Chapter Ten
Valentin
Valentin drove his beat-up sedan to the staff parking area hidden behind the mansion. While his was by far the worst, none of the employees’ vehicles would look at home in front of the grand estate.
Surprisingly, Antoni’s SUV was the only car there. Valentin hoped everyone hadn’t called in sick. The last thing he needed was to catch the flu right now.
He was excited to find Zeller and tell him that he had passed the state’s post-secondary exam in the top percentile, making him eligible to receive public scholarship money for college.
Most students took the exam in their senior year of high school, but Valentin hadn’t bothered.
Since his parents expected him to support himself, he’d never considered the possibility that he could pursue his education.
Now he was going to attend university and get a business degree, putting him on the path to a career that would be acceptable to Zeller’s parents. It would take time, but after their conversation in the garden, he knew he could bear the years as long as his omega was beside him.
Valentin assumed finding a few minutes alone with Zeller would be feasible since his fathers were on the other side of the province attending a conference where Keyes was the featured speaker. They wouldn’t return for a week.
But as Valentin made his way to the service entrance at the back of the house, something seemed off.
Sunbeams filtered in through the closed curtains, highlighting dust particles floating in the air. The hallways were dark, with no lights on in any of the downstairs rooms.
The eerie silence unnerved him. Where was everyone? He supposed this explained the lack of cars. While the Parkensons didn’t maintain an enormous staff, there were usually housemaids scurrying about. A cook in the kitchen.
Valentin moved cautiously down the long hallway that ran beside the study, the billiards room, and the home office. He heard nothing but the echo of his own footsteps.
He passed the kitchen and the great room.
After another slow, silent minute, he reached the front entryway and finally heard someone else.
With relief, he glanced at the staircase to see Antoni hurrying toward him.
“Thank stars!” the butler exclaimed. “I was about to call you. I sent the rest of the staff home because, obviously, they can’t help and it seemed important to aim for some semblance of privacy.
” He leaned over and placed his hands on his knees.
“I can’t believe this is happening. I called Keyes and Deveron twice and left messages but haven’t heard anything. ”
A low whooshing sound hummed in Valentin’s ears. Something was clearly going on, but Antoni wasn’t making any sense. And where was Zeller? The omega was definitely in the house because his sugar maple smell was incredibly intense.
Why was it so intense?
The back of Valentin’s neck tingled. His nostrils flared.
“Where is Zeller?” he demanded.
“Upstairs.” Antoni panted with anxiety. “I don’t know what his parents would want me to do…If they’d want to keep things…discreet…they never said…I could call a service…but I didn’t know…so I was waiting…for you…because…you can…help.”
His words were so disjointed that Valentin almost didn’t catch the most important ones. Call a service.
“Antoni, is Zeller—?”
The butler nodded. “Yes. Heat. He told me a few hours ago.”
Valentin sucked in a breath.
Antoni looked distraught. “It’s shocking. He’s only eighteen. I sent the staff home. Told everyone we had a gas leak, to stay away from the house until I called to say it was safe to come back.”
“And they believed you? They don’t suspect?”
“I don’t think so. I told them the Parkensons insisted, and that they would still be paid for however many days they needed to stay home. They wouldn’t argue with that.”
“That’s good at least.”
“Valentin, Zeller asked me to call you. He seemed so afraid…but also resolute. You know how he is.”
“Fearless,” Valentin affirmed as the aroma of sugar maple strengthened.
Considering how far the omega’s bedroom was, there was no doubt he was in heat and not just experiencing pre-heat symptoms.
“I realize you and he have grown close since you got hired on. It didn’t surprise me when he asked for you.
And perhaps I should have said something to his parents about your friendship before now, but honestly, I’ve known that young man his whole life, and I couldn’t bring myself to deny him what is obviously the first real happiness he’s ever had. ”
“I love him,” Valentin stated simply.
“I know.”
Another burst of sugar maple. A husky growl escaped Valentin’s throat. “I’ll help him.”
Zeller had been so courageous in forcing Valentin to admit the depth of his feelings, and Valentin meant what he’d said in the garden.
He would crawl over glass for him, do anything for him.
And if his omega was in heat, he was going to be the one to service it.
No one else. His cock agreed, already rigid and aching behind his zipper.
“Are there condoms in the house?”
Antoni seemed taken aback by the change in Valentin’s tone, but the gleam in his eye was one of approval. “I found a few boxes of alpha-sized ones in Jem’s old room. I put them in Zeller’s ensuite. The kitchen is stocked too.”
“You understand he’s safe with me?”
“Of course.”
“Then you won’t be offended when I tell you I’d rather not have an audience for this, and I would assume Zeller feels the same.
Since you’ve already dismissed the staff, it would be best if you left us too.
I’ve never serviced an omega’s heat before, but I remember my omega father and some of our neighbors.
Things can get…loud, and I’d like to maintain Zeller’s dignity to whatever degree possible.
It’s bad enough he didn’t have time to prepare properly for this. ”
The noise in Valentin’s ears swelled to a rushing river of sound, but he forced himself to remain steady.
It was astonishing how quickly he’d gone from being excited to tell Zeller about his university plans to preparing to fuck him solidly for the next three days.
But there was no time for second-guessing. His omega needed him.
“I suppose I can go to a hotel.” Antoni scratched his head, and Valentin recalled that the butler was the one staff member who lived on-site in the mansion.
“Would you consider staying at my apartment?” Valentin asked. “I need someone to look after my cat. Plus, it’s private. You can think of my dumpy studio as a mini vacation.”
Antoni chuffed. “That actually sounds okay. I wasn’t looking forward to hearing Zeller go into his delirium…or anything else.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m assuming his parents will return my calls at some point. Tonight, most likely, since they’re in meetings all day. They probably haven’t even gotten the messages yet.”
“What will you tell them?”
“The truth. There’s nothing they can do about it now. No one saw this coming. I’m certain they’ll see that this option was preferable to calling a service at the last minute. There would have been no way to guarantee Zeller’s privacy if I’d done that. Not without lead time to set up an NDA.”
“They’ll think I’m a terrible choice for their son. Beneath him.”
“Perhaps. But what else can we do? This was so sudden. He literally woke up in full heat. If we wait much longer, his pain will escalate into dangerous territory. The Parkensons will understand.”
Valentin wasn’t sure about that. But Antoni was correct that there was no other option. Even if the Parkensons somehow made it back by tomorrow, that wouldn’t be soon enough to make a different decision.
A moan sounded from the top of the stairs. Faintly, Zeller called out Valentin’s name.
Antoni clapped him on the shoulders. “Good luck. Take care of him.”
“Nothing could stop me.”
***
When Valentin pushed open Zeller’s door, he was unsurprised to find the omega unclothed on the bed.
Although he had never been with an omega in heat before, he had received enough education on the subject in school—not to mention living in a thin-walled apartment complex—to understand what would happen, and more importantly, how to help.
His instincts would round out any knowledge he lacked.
Sugar maple thickened the air. It was a good thing he’d arrived when he had, because if Zeller’s heat was stronger, it would have been much more difficult for Valentin to control his alpha. As it was, the beast inside him vibrated as he took in Zeller’s naked body for the first time.
The emotions assailing him were impossible to process. He’d had other partners, seen other men, but that was nothing compared to seeing this man, the one who had captured his heart and his mind so thoroughly, laid out before him.
Zeller in heat was an incredible sight. The curves of his compact form enticed Valentin as he arched his back. He was hairless, other than a smattering of curls above his delicate pink cock, which was stiff and pointing at the ceiling.
Valentin swallowed, tamping down his alpha’s desire to pounce and claim. He stalked toward the bed.
Zeller hadn’t noticed him at first, but his head turned at the sound of footsteps.
“You came,” the omega whispered. His cheeks flushed as he put a hand over his erection.
“Of course I came.” Valentin quickly shed his clothing. He slid into bed next to Zeller and removed the omega’s hand from his shaft. “You don’t have to cover yourself in front of me. Never.”
Zeller approximated a smile and panted out, “I don’t know what happened. I felt hot in the middle of the night, and I thought I might be getting sick. Then when I woke up a few hours ago, I barely had time to warn Antoni before I was…like this.”
Valentin knew what Zeller needed from him, but he had to check in before they were both overtaken by their urges. His inner alpha strained beneath his skin. Claim him.
But this leap could not be made lightly. “Can I touch you?” he asked gently. “Where you need me most?”
Zeller responded by rolling onto his side and wiggling the smooth round globes of his ass.