Chapter 20
Keld
The Omega was still glaring at Keld when their drinks arrived.
Keld feigned ignorance and took a sip of his salty, citrusy beer.
From the corner of his eye, he observed as Grayson cautiously gripped the sake bottle by the hand towel wrapped around it, and poured steaming, translucent liquid into the tiny, matching cup.
The scent of poison coiled in Keld’s nostrils, making his eyes burn.
Grayson lifted the cup to his lips. For a moment, he seemed to simply process. Then, his eyes widened.
“Holy shit, that’s so good. How is it better than cold sake?” he demanded.
Keld’s facial fins shivered with satisfaction. “I can only offer second-hand accounts, but something about the temperature affecting the aroma and flavors. I’m surprised you’ve even had sake. Isn’t that a bit adventurous for you?”
“Shut up.” Grayson laughed. “Jenna made me try it like two weeks ago.”
Keld snorted a laugh. “The more I learn about you, the more I’m convinced you grew up in some Florida backwater.”
He meant it as a joke, but Grayson sobered instantly.
Shit.
“Sorry,” Keld muttered, “I shouldn’t—”
“Georgia,” Grayson interrupted. “It was a Georgia backwater.”
Keld cocked his head. “How’d you end up in Miami? Why not Savannah?”
Grayson jammed another tangle of udon noodles into his mouth.
Keld let his gaze fall to his plate. He probably should have guessed that Grayson didn’t have the best background. He was timid, poorly exposed to the world, and enjoyed being tossed around a sex club’s private room like a horny little bag of flour.
“My family’s not great.”
Keld looked back up at Grayson. His light eyes were fixed on his bowl.
“I didn’t want them to be able to find me.”
Something in Keld’s chest tightened to the point of pain.
“You don’t have to talk about it. I get it.
” And he did. His own mother had driven him to the furthest reaches of the island, though he’d never been bold enough to abandon her entirely.
Grayson was brave, whether he knew it or not.
Even talking about it was more than Keld had ever been able to do.
Grayson looked up at Keld through his blond lashes and offered a small smile. Keld returned it, and the pair fell back into their meal.
By the time Keld had (forcefully) paid the bill, Grayson’s dour mood had lifted.
“Thanks for dinner,” he said as he slid into the passenger seat. “It was fantastic. Jenna’s going to be thrilled.”
“Maybe I’ll finally get on her good side.” Keld placed a hand on the back of Grayson’s headrest and turned to reverse. The Omega went quiet.
Keld’s eyes flickered down to him. “What?”
“Nothing.” The pink stain on his cheeks said otherwise.
Keld fought back a grin. They drove the five minutes back to Sandpiper Park in comfortable quiet, watching the violet foliage pass by, and the sun collapse behind the horizon.
“You work tomorrow?” Keld asked.
“Yeah. Pretty much every weekday.”
A violent buzz from Keld’s pocket halted his reply.
“Sorry,” he said, extracting the phone and glancing at the screen.
Jiei
Keld let out a slow breath through his nose. “I have to take this. Why don’t you head in?”
Grayson’s face fell. Disappointed? Why?
“Okay. Well, have a good night.” Grayson swung his legs out of the car and headed off across the parking lot.
Keld watched him go for another second or so before picking up the call.
“Yes, jiei?” he said in Loaish.
“Real nice. Not even a hello, huh?” Her rasping voice was a talon against his eardrums.
Keld squeezed his eyes shut. “Hello. How are you?”
“Pretty piss-poor. I got no food and my ungrateful biyaug of a son hasn’t bothered to check in for weeks.”
“Jiei, you know you can leave the house and get your own groceries, right?”
“You know damn well I got no fucking money. Kids are supposed to take care of their parents after they grow up. That’s the whole point of having them.” His jiei broke off in a coughing fit. “You want me to starve, biyaug?”
“You know that’s not—”
“Then get your ass up here and help me.”
The phone line went dead.
∞∞∞
“You took him to dinner?” Zasia was once again perched on the edge of Keld’s cubicle, spring green arms folded under her chin. “That sounds like a date, my friend.”
“It wasn’t,” Keld grunted. “He’s not interested in dating. It’s purely physical.”
“Uh huh.” Zasia leaned in. “Do you know how many subs I’ve taken out to dinner? None.”
“That’s not a fair comparison,” Keld argued, “because if you took one of them out, you’d have to take all of them, and then you’d never financially recover.”
Zasia’s claws glanced harmlessly off the scales of Keld’s arm. “I don’t have that many!”
“Oh yeah? Do you even know how many?”
Zasia opened her mouth, then closed it. “Fine, you’ve made your point. But still, when was the last time you played with someone else? I saw Dakota with Uvas yesterday, and he used to only have eyes for you.”
Keld waited for a flare of jealousy at the thought of the dark-haired Omega with the hulking, sapphire-scaled Alpha, but none came.
“Dakota isn’t my sub,” Keld said. “He’s free to play with whoever he wants.”
“That’s not the point—”
“Zas, don’t you have work to do? Like, I don’t know, accounting?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re evading.”
“I’m working.”
Zasia heaved a beleaguered sigh and returned to her desk, vanishing behind the gray cubicle wall.
Keld slumped back into his chair.
Maybe she has a point… I haven’t seen my usual partners in months. It’s not like Grayson would care if I spent time at Siren without him…
Keld groaned and buried his face into his hands. Would Grayson care? Did he want Grayson to care?
“You could try adding a third.”
Keld shrieked and nearly fell out of his chair.
Zasia burst out laughing. “I had no idea you could even make that sound.”
Keld righted himself furiously. “You scared the shit out of me!”
“It’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention,” Zasia said, still snickering. “Listen, if you add a third, Grayson gets to try something new, and you won’t be neglecting your other playmates.”
“Sure, yeah, okay, I’ll think about it,” Keld said irritably. “Now go work!”
“Fine, fine, don’t get your slit in a twist.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, Keld reflected once she’d gone. He’d never discussed that particular activity with Grayson, but he’d agreed to almost every other suggestion Keld had made. Maybe it would help remind him that Grayson wasn’t his—redraw that boundary Keld found himself blurring.
Keld’s fingers flew across his keyboard on autopilot while he mentally scanned through the various subs he’d spent time with at Siren. There were a few he knew would leap on the offer. Unless… Keld paused. Would Grayson want a second Alpha?
He tried to picture himself working in tandem with another Dom—it wasn’t something he’d ever done.
One of us could fuck his ass, while the other fucked his face…
A dull thrum of excitement resounded in his veins, but a much deeper part of him prickled at the thought.
He envisioned a faceless Alpha, his hands on Grayson’s patterned skin, his cock between Grayson’s pink lips…
It’ll be hot, he told himself. We’ll both have fun and I can stop pretending we’re anything more than fuck buddies.
His focus for the remainder of the workday was split between monotonous spreadsheets and forming a mental checklist of Alphas he could ask.
He absolutely could not have a threesome with Zasia.
It would be like sleeping with his sister.
He didn’t know Uvas all that well, but the Mer seemed polite enough.
There was also Reiz, a rose-pink Alpha who even Keld found attractive…
Maybe I’ll ask Reiz.
When 5 p.m. rolled around and Keld stepped outside, he was greeted by early evening sun. It was weak on his face, but the persistent humidity appeared to be working overtime to compensate. His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Grayson Aiu: How was work?
Keld took a deep breath and tapped out a reply.
Keld Vihinu: Boring. Until I had an idea.
Grayson Aiu: I’m afraid.
Keld Vihunu: If I was to invite a third to our next session, would you prefer an Alpha Dom or an Omega sub?
Grayson Aiu: A THIRD?!
Keld Vihinu: Why not? Doesn’t it sound fun?
The three little dots appeared and disappeared over and over again, as if Grayson was typing and deleting his answer. Keld felt like he couldn’t breathe. He found himself hoping the Omega would refuse.
Grayson Aiu: Alpha Dom.
The two words punched the frozen air from Keld’s lungs. This was a good thing. He needed to create distance if he wanted this thing to continue.
Keld Vihinu: Done. I’m thinking of asking Reiz. You remember me pointing him out? The pink scales?
Grayson Aiu: Yeah. He’s pretty.
Keld Vihinu: Should I ask him?
Grayson Aiu: Sure.
All the mental images Keld had spent the workday repressing came flooding back into his mind—Grayson on his hands and knees, tears in his eyes, crushed between two Alphas as they murmured words of praise and demand…
His cock twitched. Keld hoped that meant his plan was working.