He was getting emotional over something so simple as baby onesies. Kai couldn’t help staring at Micah, his heart swelling. Yeah, not all omegas were like the ones Kai had grown up with.
“We didn’t know which sizes would be most useful,” Spike answered.
Kai just trailed his fingers up Micah’s arm, relishing the warmth of Micah’s skin. “Tell us which ones you need more of.”
“I can get this, you know,” Micah said, looking at them both with soft blue eyes, and his lips curved in a delighted smile. “I know it costs you to spend money on things you don’t need right now.”
“You’re the most important,” Spike said with a smile. “We’d do anything for you.”
Anything? Kai realized then that it wasn’t far from the truth.
Micah pulled them both into a tight hug. Kai buried his nose in Micah’s hair, just breathing him in. In his other arm, Spike was strong, muscular. Sturdy, like a rock in Kai’s life.
It felt good to have both his alpha and omega in his arms. “You sounded unhappy earlier,” Kai said. “Just from York’s text. We thought you might want something to cheer you up.”
“This really helped,” Micah said, a smile in his voice. “Thank you both.”
Kai wanted to pin him to the counter, and kiss the breath out of him.
Micah tensed. Kai turned, wondering what Micah had seen over his shoulder.
“You don’t have to keep looking like that every time I walk in on you,” York muttered behind them. “I was just checking on dinner.”
Micah released Kai and Spike anyway, his ears turning pink.
Was that the tiniest smile on York’s lips?
“Anyway, I want you to come home with us,” Spike said to Micah. “Come meet our mom. And... I guess our dad. I don’t know. But I think Mom would love to see you.”
Micah cringed. “I don’t know. I’m not... the sort of omega you’d want to bring home.”
“Yes, you are,” Kai growled, at the same time Spike said, “Definitely the one I want to bring home.”
“How old’s your mom?” York asked.
“In her forties,” Spike said. “I guess close to Micah’s age.”
“So if you guys get married, is your mom going to be my dad’s mother-in-law?” York asked.
“Too soon to be asking that,” Kai muttered, throwing a glare at York. “Have some tact.”
“None left.” York shrugged. “You’re dating my dad.”
Micah hunched into himself, looking awkward. “As a parent... I can’t imagine my son bringing back someone so old, you know.”
“Mom’s great,” Spike said, his eyes lighting up. “She won’t mind how old you are.”
“Yeah,” Kai agreed. “You’ll like her.”
Whether their dad would like Micah, Kai wasn’t sure. Dad wasn’t even actually his dad, except he had also made sure Kai got some new clothes occasionally, when Kai was growing up.
“We’ll see,” Micah hedged, holding the onesies against his chest. “I can only hope she’s as nice once we meet.”
27
Micah
Micah hovered in front of his dresser, the makeup kit open. Should I show them my scars? Or are they better off not seeing...?
In minutes, he’d be heading out with Kai and Spike to meet their parents. Micah had prepared a fruit basket and had filled it with the largest grapes and prettiest apples he could find. He’d figured that would put him in Kai and Spike’s mom’s good books, but their dad...
Did it really matter, after all that he’d heard about Terence Ventura?
There came a knock on his bedroom door. Then it opened, and Kai and Spike stepped in. Micah’s heart quickened for them.
“Thought we’d find you here,” Spike said, his eyes lighting up.
Kai came to stand behind Micah, working his talented thumbs into Micah’s shoulders. Micah groaned as soft, exquisite pressure hummed through his body.
“Hey, don’t make him come,” Spike teased, nudging Kai in the side. “I wanna do the honors.”
Kai snorted, but he didn’t stop his massage. Instead, he trailed his fingers up Micah’s neck, brushing Micah’s hair back from his face. “What’re you doing here? Just staring at the mirror?”
Kai was joking, from the tiny smile that twitched his lips. Micah leaned back against Kai’s chest, trying to shake off the tension in his body. “I’m nervous. I can’t—decide if I need the makeup.”
“You don’t need it,” Kai said. “Mom’s a practical omega. She doesn’t need all the frills.”
“And Dad’s probably too drunk to care.” Spike smiled wryly. “So just bring your pretty face—and yes, you look perfect as you are.”
Micah met both their gazes in the mirror, his heart melting. “Sometimes, having the both of you seems too good to be true.”
“Yeah. Sometimes I wonder why you’re even hanging around with us,” Kai said, dragging his thumb across Micah’s lower lip. Micah kissed his finger.
“Because we make him come every night.” Spike wriggled his eyebrows.
York banged on the closed bedroom door from the hallway outside. “Don’t say that so loud, you fucker!”
Then he slammed his own door, and Micah’s face burned. Spike grinned; Kai’s gaze darkened, possessive.
“I like watching you come,” Kai growled, dragging his wrist down Micah’s throat, marking him with elm. “Especially when you shake so hard and you can’t move afterward.”
“Yeah, those are the best times.” Spike rumbled. “When we completely please our omega until he can’t have any more. Fill him up with our come.”
Micah stood, his entire head scorching. “Right, out with you. We’re traveling instead of talking about bedroom matters.”
Spike laughed, slipping his arm around Micah’s waist. “We could talk about the baby, too. Have you thought of a name?”
Micah shook his head. “There are so many names out there. I’m still deciding.”
As they made their way to the front door, there came the faintest flutter in his abdomen. Micah paused, looking down.
“What’s wrong?” Kai asked, his gaze sharpening.
“I felt the baby move,” Micah murmured, pressing his hand over his belly. His child was in there, alive and reacting to his voice, and Micah’s heart thumped for his baby.
Identical looks of fascination and wariness flashed through Kai and Spike’s faces.
“Our baby,” Spike said slowly, pressing his hand against Micah’s belly. “I don’t feel it.”
Micah tried to reposition Spike’s hand, but the flutter had been faint. At sixteen weeks, only Micah would be able to feel his baby moving. “You might have to wait a few weeks more, until the baby gets bigger.”
“Oh.” Spike chewed on his lip. Then he dropped to his knees, pressing his face against Micah’s belly. “Hi,” Spike murmured, his voice vibrating through Micah’s body. “I guess I’m really gonna be a dad, now that Micah’s feeling you move. I don’t know if I’m ready yet.”
Micah’s heart swelled for him. Spike was acknowledging their baby, talking to it. Kissing all over Micah’s belly, even though he wasn’t sure about being a dad.
I love him so much, Micah thought, brushing his fingers through Spike’s hair. He knew he shouldn’t.
Kai stood to the side, a mixed, hesitant look in his eyes. He looked... envious. Torn. And Micah remembered encouraging Kai to submit his scholarship application to Highton College.
With the sheer possibilities in Kai’s future... Micah didn’t want to constrain him to this small town. He would hate for anyone to do that to York.
But he couldn’t help the thump of his heart, when Kai glanced up, meeting his eyes.
For all that Kai said little, sometimes holding back with his affections whereas Spike was forthcoming, Kai craved the same intimacy Spike shared with Micah. Micah read it in the moments Kai ran his wrists over Micah, the moments he wrapped himself around Micah, his teeth worrying Micah’s skin
.
That alpha was possessive as hell. He was just holding back, like Micah was. So Micah reached toward him with a smile.
Kai wrapped an arm around Micah, nipping on his earlobe. Then he kissed Micah, claiming his mouth, tasting Micah inside. Micah groaned against Kai, and Spike rumbled.
“Touch the baby,” Spike said, grabbing Kai’s hand.
“I can’t.” Kai broke the kiss, glancing hesitantly at Micah’s belly. “Sorry.”
Micah squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. I don’t expect you to.”
“But it’s our baby,” Spike said, looking pointedly at Kai. “You’re its dad, too.”
Kai looked uncomfortable, so Micah distracted them. “I don’t want to be late in meeting your mom. That’ll be terrible.”
Spike grumbled, but he pressed a kiss to Micah’s belly, then rose to his feet.
The drive to Kai and Spike’s family home passed too quickly. Micah wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, following Kai and Spike up to the apartment.
Kai and Spike’s parents lived in a poorer part of town, the apartment building run-down, the common corridor dim and narrow. Micah had grown up in relative comfort, so this... it made his heart ache.
“Did you grow up here?” Micah asked.
“I did,” Spike said. “Kai and his dad moved in.”
From an even worse situation. Micah held Kai’s hand, squeezing it. Kai just looked amused.
“It’s fine,” Kai rumbled. “It isn’t that bad.”
Micah imagined these two alphas as boys, suffering through their own hardships. He wished he could’ve helped them.
They stopped in front of a door with splotchy paint. Micah clutched his fruit basket in front of himself, his worries crashing back into him.
What did you say to a fellow omega your age, when you’d been dating her children? When you’d spent years teaching your own child not to let older people take advantage of him? She’d think so badly of Micah.
Micah gulped, his heart racing. If it gets bad, I’ll bail and wait for them downstairs.
Movement sounded from inside the apartment. Micah stopped breathing. Then the door swung open to reveal a friendly-looking omega in her forties with blond curls and copper eyes, her skin weather-worn, laugh lines on her face.
“Spike! Kai!” Natalie held her arms open, grinning when her sons crowded around her, giving her big hugs. Micah’s heart warmed, even as he wiped his sweaty palms off again.
“Haven’t seen you in too long,” Spike said.
“I hope you’ve been eating enough,” Kai said.
“I have been eating,” Natalie answered, ruffling their hair. “And hush, Spike, you were only here last week!”
Then she turned her gaze toward Micah, and Micah froze. Whenever he met a new person, Micah knew they saw his ugliest parts first—the scars, the bald spots, the crow’s feet at his eyes. And when he walked, his limp.
To someone like Natalie... Micah was as good as a cradle-robber.
“Micah?” she asked, cutting through his ramping anxiety. “Spike has been telling me a lot about you.”
Micah’s dread grew. He felt old, suddenly, standing between Kai and Spike. “It’s great to meet you, too,” he said, his skin too tight. It felt like anything he did wouldn’t hide the fact that he was their professor. So he thrust the fruit basket forward. “Here, I brought this for you.”
He briefly considered backing away, disappearing downstairs so Natalie wouldn’t judge him.
Instead, Natalie’s eyes lit up. She took the basket, stepped forward, and pulled Micah into a warm hug. Micah tensed.
“You look like you needed it,” Natalie murmured in his ear, smelling like butter and roses. “Thank you for the gift.”
Micah’s voice stuck in his throat. After what he’d done, this was... generous of her. “Thank you,” he croaked.
Except she paused, sniffing. “Oh, you’re wearing Kai’s scent, too. Kai said nothing about this.”
Micah gulped. The brothers had agreed to let their scents linger on Micah’s skin. Next to Micah, Kai stepped forward, his jaw set. “He’s mine, too.”
Micah’s heart tripped, even as he feared for Kai’s relationship with his mother.
To his surprise, Natalie laughed. “I shouldn’t have expected any different.” Then she stepped back, waving them in. “Come, let’s discuss this inside.”
Once the door was shut, Natalie leveled Kai with a look. “You weren’t planning to tell me?”
For all that Kai was fierce and possessive, he blushed. “I... was thinking about telling you.”
Micah knew it was really because Kai hadn’t made up his mind about staying in Meadowfall, or committing.
“Spike and I, we...” Kai trailed off, glancing at his brother. For a moment, Micah thought they might come clean about their own relationship, and his breath stuck in his throat.
“We’re sharing Micah,” Spike said, crowding close against Micah’s side. “I love him very much.”
Natalie broke into a fond smile. Micah’s face burned. He wasn’t ready to admit the same in front of everyone. Then there was having two relationships at the same time, and well. It wasn’t the most befitting of an omega. Natalie had to remember the TV shows from when they were younger, about polyamorous relationships being persecuted in the courts.
“I’m really sorry,” Micah said to Natalie, his face scorching so hot, it felt like his skin might peel.
Natalie frowned and squeezed his hand. “No, don’t be.”
Micah bowed his head. “I’m their professor. I shouldn’t—”
“You’re our omega,” Kai growled, linking his fingers with Micah’s. “Couple more years, and it wouldn’t matter.”
“Micah’s beautiful. He’s clever and sweet and he’s a single dad.” Spike slid his palm down to Micah’s belly, and Micah flushed even harder. “Well, he’s not exactly single now.”
“Oh,” Natalie said, her eyes growing wide. “I must’ve missed that. Congrats, Micah!” Then she turned to look accusingly at Spike. “What did I tell you about using protection?”
“Mom!” Spike turned beet-red. Then he glanced at Kai, and said, “Kai didn’t, either.”
Kai flipped Spike off, and got the same glare from their mother.
Micah wasn’t sure if he should step in to defend them. It had been his fault, too. Except this was a mess as it was, and the more Spike revealed about their sex lives, the more Micah wanted to bury his face in the paisley couch.
“You two will drive me to an early death,” Natalie said, scowling at her sons.
“No!” Spike yelped. “No dying.”
“Yeah, definitely not,” Kai growled, narrowing his eyes.
Micah couldn’t help the tiniest smile. Natalie, too. She shook her head, blowing out a sigh. “I can’t say I’m surprised about the three of you.”
“You aren’t?” Micah blurted, the tiniest bit or relief seeping into his chest.
“These two are tight as blood brothers,” Natalie said with a fond smile. “There hasn’t been much they don’t share.”
“So I’ve heard,” Micah answered, daring to relax slightly. Unlike York, Spike’s mom wasn’t judging them for their relationship with each other. It was such a welcome relief.
“Has Kai or Spike ever told you about the time they shared the toilet so they could poop at the same time?” Natalie asked, a glint in her eye. “They were eleven.”
Spike looked horrified. Kai just stared, his mouth falling open. “Mom,” they croaked.
Micah imagined them as children, identical grins on their faces, balancing on the edge of the toilet seat so they didn’t push each other off. “They haven’t told me, no. But it sounds adorable.”
Kai rubbed his face. Spike groaned.
“The only reason I found out,” Natalie continued, “was because we had to get a plumber to fix the toilet after.”
Micah snorted, trying to hold down his laughter.
“No,” Spike said, his
face bright red. “No more! You’re going to lose us an omega by the end of this.”
“I swear it was all the TP,” Kai muttered, unable to meet Micah’s eyes.
“I only had one eleven-year-old, not two.” Micah laughed, leaning into his alphas. “You’ll have to tell me all their childhood stories.”
The brothers squawked; Spike tried to tug Micah away from their mom.
“Oh, I will,” Natalie promised, chuckling. “You won’t believe the things they’ve gotten up to.”
“Somehow, I think I will.” Micah smiled, finally starting to relax. This visit... maybe it wouldn’t turn out as bad as he’d expected, after all.
“Let’s change the topic,” Kai said flatly.
“To Kai,” Spike said. “Or Micah.” He wrapped his arms around Micah, his body warm and solid. “I want to marry them both.” Then Spike froze, glancing at his mom.
“Shit,” Kai said under his breath.
Kai and Spike glanced at Natalie, Spike with some uncertainty, Kai with his jaw clenched in determination.
Natalie sighed. “I’m not surprised by that, either. It’s taken you a while to tell me.”
Surprise darted through their faces. “You aren’t?” Kai asked, at the same time Spike said, “How?”
Natalie laughed. “You’re my sons. I’ve watched the two of you grow up. Did you think I never saw the bottles of scent suppressants lying around? And the way you look at each other? There was the time Spike fell down and scraped his knees—he was fifteen, Kai, and you kissed his temple. Normal brothers don’t do that.”
Spike turned red; Kai grumbled, looking away.
Their mom shrugged. “I’m just glad the two of you are looking out for each other. That’s all I ask.”
“You don’t care that—that Kai and I—” Spike gulped “—I want him to be my bondmate.”
Kai didn’t speak, but he stood closer to Spike, trailing his fingertips down Spike’s wrist.
“No, that’s fine with me,” Natalie said, cracking a smile. Relief darted through the brothers’ eyes. Then Natalie pulled them into a tight hug, and Spike sniffled. Kai blinked hard.
His Two Alphas Page 26
