All of which involved us both being naked, if I had anything to say about it.
“I need to be well informed before I decide.” I sat up and began loosening and removing his tie.. He was too dressed for my liking.
“I see you are already twitching to get back into things.” He wasn’t wrong. I was already sporting a semi just at his words and the feel of his skin under my fingers as I opened his shirt one button at a time.
“You do have that effect on me.” I leaned in, swiping my tongue over his nipple before giving it a little tug with my teeth. “So options. A guy needs options.”
What I needed was him, naked, but I wanted to hear where his mind was leading.
“Well, as much as you enjoy being bent over the couch and being slammed into, that probably needs to be put on hold for a while.”
That was the one downside of being pregnant. I’d never had morning sickness and I felt on top of the world, but over the couch sex was no longer working, and he was right, it was my favorite. Well, that and over the desk at his office sex.
“True. On all accounts. It’s my fave.” I worked his cuff links out of his sleeves before removing his shirt completely. That was much better.
“Shower sex requires coordination that post-orgasm bliss sometimes lacks.”
“You’re supposed to be giving me options, not impossibilities.” I pouted as I unbuckled his pants, pulling the belt from its loops and placing it on my pillow in a less than subtle hint that a little bondage was on the table.
“Patience.” His voice cracked. It was nice to know that even in my bloated state, he still was affected by my seductive ways. “Patience, omega mine. But your point is valid. Let’s see. Option one: I can take you nice and slow in our bed, savoring every moment. With or without the belt, I suppose.” He winked. Oh, there would be a belt involved.
“Yes.”
“Options. You wanted options,” he scolded as I released the button on his trousers and lowered the zipper, accidentally bushing against his erection and earning a moan. “Option two: we can bring out your new toy.”
“Yes.” I didn’t even know what the toy was, but my imagination ran wild.
“Will you let me finish?”
And just for that, I slid my hand into his boxers. Probably not the best punishment, considering we both loved it.
“Just for that, I’m only giving you three options.”
Thank freaking goodness, because I was full on ready to go and the anticipation, while amazing, was pure torture.
“You’re playing dirty,” I mumbled under my breath, pulling his pants down and releasing his cock.
“No, but I plan to.” He gathered the pre-cum that was already forming on his erection with his finger and licked it clean. Man was trying to kill me.
“Option three, you take me.”
Holy fuck. My alpha just offered himself to me. Fully.
“Three!” I squeed.
“You want option three then?”
“No, I want all three.”
And by the time we finally decided it was time for sleep, all three it had been.
55
Parker
“You’re too hard on Jessamine,” Lisa said, taking a tidy bite of her steak.
“I thought her name was Jessica,” I said, dumbfounded.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “This is why you can’t keep good help.”
“I never should have promoted you to CFO.” I sawed at my steak mercilessly.
“Aww, that’s so sweet.” Lisa patted my cheek, but she wasn’t being patronizing. Okay, maybe she was a bit, but I was being a giant baby, and I deserved it. Jessica, or whatever her name was, was the third assistant I’d hired since promoting Lisa to CFO.
“You know the real reason none of them work out?” Lisa set her silverware aside and leaned back to take a sip of wine.
“Tell me, oh wise one.” I really did enjoy the more equal footing Lisa’s new position had put us on. She’d never hesitated to call me on my BS before, but now she really didn’t hesitate, and she laughed at me to boot.
“Their major crime is that they aren’t me and you just need to get over yourself.”
“Who needs to get over themselves? You think pretty highly of yourself it seems.”
Lisa smirked. “Of course I do. And so do you.”
I couldn’t argue with her when she was right. But she was always right. So I argued anyway.
“Anyway, when is that little godchild of mine going to get here? I’m not getting any younger you know.”
“You’re telling me. At least you have grandchildren to distract yourself with.”
Miles was three days past his due date, and his doctor had just started talking about possibly scheduling an induction if he went longer than a week. I had originally taken the whole week off, assuming that the baby would already be here by now, but with no baby in sight, I had apparently been too wound up for Miles to deal with, and he’d sent me back to work with strict orders to keep going into work until he told me he was in labor.
My phone rang. Miles. I mouthed his name to Lisa as I answered, doing my best not to get my expectations up.
“Hey babe, what’s up?”
“Oh, not much.” His breathy tone belied his calm words. “Just heading to the hospital to have a baby.”
“Now?” I realized I’d screamed the word when several tables turned to see what was wrong and Lisa dropped her knife in surprise. “Do I need to come to the house? Or call a taxi? Hold on, I’ll be right there.”
“Parker, I’m fine. Just go ahead and meet me at the hospital. Jace was dropping off some baby stuff and I asked him to drive me.”
“How long have you been in labor?” I was already grabbing my suit jacket and standing as Lisa assured me she would cover the check.
“Since last night…” Miles said sheepishly.
“What?” I was yelling again. “What?” I asked more calmly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’ve been having contra—” he paused for a moment and my heart rate skyrocketed. “Contractions,” he said finally. “I’ve had them off and on for days, and I didn’t want to get your hopes up if it wasn’t the real deal. Jace just took one look at my face and knew. So here were are.”
“So here we are,” I repeated as I got in my car. “Hey, I’m driving now, but I’ll see you in a few moments, okay? Just… just don’t have the baby without me. I don’t want to miss it.”
Miles laughed. “You’ll be there in plenty of time, Parker. Just drive slowly. We’ve had enough accidents to last a lifetime.”
He was right. It pained me to keep to the speed limit, but I did so. When I pulled up to the hospital, I could see Jace standing outside the main entrance, so instead of parking, I pulled up to him instead.
“Thank goodness,” Jace said, a little frantic. “You better get up there quick. The baby is coming.”
“I thought Miles said I had plenty of time,” I said, panicking.
“That’s what I told him so he wouldn’t worry. Go! I’ll park your car. Labor and Delivery Room 3422.”
I ran. Frantically babbling Miles’s room number, several nurses pointed me in the right direction, and then there he was, beautiful. Two nurses descended on me as soon as I blurted out that I was his alpha and I was shoved into his room in no time flat.
I bent down to kiss Miles’s head as soon as I reached him, and he smiled tiredly.
“Are you ready to meet our baby?” he asked tiredly.
“So ready,” I whispered, my voice failing me.
“Okay, Dads, on three, push!”
The next ten minutes were intense, and then our little girl screamed her protest at being thrust into the world, and I clipped the umbilical cord. Shortly after, she was snuggled on top of Miles’s chest, and the rest of the world faded away. Everything I needed was right before me. Everything I thought I would never have—here it was. And it was perfect.
A few hours later, Miles was sleeping and I
was simply staring at Ariana. She was bundled up like a burrito, and all I could see was her sweet, precious face. She was so tiny! The feeling of responsibility I had for this tiny creature suddenly loomed over me, making me more determined than ever to do right by this little girl and the amazing man who had brought her into the world.
There was a quiet knock on the door, and then Marcus’s head popped in. “Is now a good time?” he whispered.
“Of course!” I stood to greet my brother with a hug. Things were better between us. I still felt like there was a wall between us, things that Marcus wouldn’t talk to me about, but I had hope he would feel comfortable enough to talk to me about it someday. But today, I wanted to introduce my baby girl to her Uncle Marcus.
“Can I?” Marcus asked, his eyes darting to Ariana’s bassinet.
“Yeah, let me get her out.”
“I don’t want to wake her up!” Marcus protested.
“She’s a sleeping champ,” I assured him, gently picking her up and placing her in his eager arms. “All she does is eat and sleep, eat and sleep. The nurses assure me it’s normal.”
Marcus held Ariana with a reverence that seemed at odds with the Marcus I’d come to know, but very reminiscent of the Zeke I grew up with. I couldn’t help but yearn for that closeness we used to share, that openness. I blinked away a tear. It was important to me that Marcus stay in Ariana’s life… in our lives.
“Hey, you made it,” Miles said sleepily from his bed.
“As if I’d miss meeting my first niece!” Marcus said, his voice choked with tears, which made me emotional all over again. “I’m counting on you giving me, like, five more of these!”
“Don’t you even think about it right now,” Miles warned both of us. “We’re adopting from here on out.”
I left Ariana with her uncle to step over and give Miles a kiss. “I’m okay with five more. But I’ll take them however you want to give them to me.”
“Enough talk about more kids,” Miles chided, though a smile graced his lips. “Tell me how amazing my daughter is. We made a good one, didn’t we?”
56
Miles
“Are you sure this thing is on right?” Parker looked skeptical as I handed him Ariana to put in the wrap I just instructed him on how to use. ”What if she falls out?”
“She’s not going to fall out. She’s going to be snug as a rug all sound asleep before you even fasten the knot.” I reassured as he took her into his hands, looking ever fearful he would in fact drop her and that she would shatter like glass when he did so.
I had to give him credit, though. I’d been trying to get him to try the wrap for close to a month and he was always to terrified and today he was jumping in. Big tough alpha could go head to head with the most powerful of men, but was putty when it came to his daughter.
We were both figuring this baby thing out on our own. As a child, my grandfathers were such an integral part of my life those early years. I’m sure it was to help my mom figure all the baby stuff out, but looking back on the pictures I saw it as the gift it was to me, surrounded by all that love, multigenerational love at that. Parker’s parents had met Ariana a few times, but beyond a few presents, seemed disinterested in actually interacting with her. I hoped that would change as she got older.
I chose to believe that, in their sick way, my parents loved me even if their actions meant I could no longer allow them to be in my life. Our daughter would never have the kind of relationship I had with my grandparents before they passed and I was saddened by that, even if it was the right thing to do unless things drastically changed. She had Parker and I, and we would make sure she always felt loved.
“Now place her here, pull this part over and this under. Perfect. No pull the ends up.” He followed every instruction to a T until the last, where he would have to not have at least one hand beneath her. She was perfectly secure, but I got his trepidation. I was leery my first time as well and if I hadn’t been at a baby wearing class, she’d probably be in my arms exclusively.
“She’ll fall.” Parker shook his head vehemently. No, today was not his day for tying the wrap. Which was fine. Just the fact that he wanted to be here, wearing her, while I finished up an emancipation case I began before Ariana was born, meant everything.
Not once had Parker asked me to give up my career. Money was a non-issue for us, so it wasn’t that he needed my contribution. We actually “anonymously” donated my paycheck back to the omega house each month. Naheed knew where the money was coming from, but we kept it at that. I feared it would change how people saw me at work, and he understood.
Even as baby day came close, Parker supported my choice to be a working omega and on more than one occasion, I caught him bragging about how much I made a difference doing what I did. He was proud of me which meant every bit as much to me as his love did. From the outside, we might not appear to be equals, but in Parker’s eyes we were and that was ll that mattered.
“No,” I tried to reassure him. “She’s good and secure, but I can do it if you want and next time you can try it seated.” The relief on his face was all the answer I needed and I fastened the wrap with ease. Damn, he looked good wearing our daughter. “There. Snug as a bug, just like I promised.”
“She’s so perfect.” He brushed her one long curl off of her face. Marcus constantly teased us with the rhyme about there being a girl with a little curl, but no one believed for a second that the sweet babe we called daughter could ever be horrid.
“Gets it from her dad.” I stood up on my tip toes long enough to kiss his cheek. “So are you ready? It should only be an hour.” I hoped. In truth, this case should’ve been done two months ago, but there was a problem finding the poor omega’s birth certificate and that put things on hold. They were safe in Omega House as they waited for their hearing, but being free of the parents that beat you for who you were, that was a gift this one needed and I planned to give.
“I’ll be fine.” The confidence he held while at work was completely absent, his insecurities shining though. He’d be great. He always was. “You’re only going to be in the next room, after all.” He fluffed off, but that had been the key to him agreeing. I offered to let the baby stay with Jace, or even home with Parker, but he wanted the baby near me, sure she would starve while waiting for my return. It was inconvenient that she wouldn’t take a bottle, but she wasn’t going to stave in an hour, especially now that she was eating less frequently and with more gusto each meal. But I wanted her here too, so it was an easy concession.
At the time I took the job, I’d known I was pregnant. What I hadn’t comprehended was what a game changer the nursery and baby wearing at work was going to be. If I had taken the other offer, I’d have been on paternity leave for at least the next year. I just couldn’t be away from her for that long. Omega House had managed to give me a gift as big as the one I tried to give them. I could follow my career path where it led while being the best father I could. I owed Jace--big time.
“True, but you do tend to worry.”
“That’s my job.” All teasing was pushed aside. One thing no one could ever accuse Parker of was not giving his all to being the best alpha and father he could be. I loved him for it, even if he sometimes was ludicrously over the top, like when he called preschools the week after Ariana was born to secure her spot. Silly alpha. Wonderful alpha.
“No.” I squeezed his shoulder. “That’s where you are wrong, Alpha.”
“How so?”
“Your job is to love us.”
“And I do.” He kissed me before pushing the pesky curl from her forehead another time. ”With all my heart.”
What more could an omega ask for?
Author’s Note
This, by far, was the most difficult book we have written. It took us the longest to write, we fought about it the most, and as a result, we have fallen in love with Parker and Miles more deeply than we could have imagined.
Miles was originally a throw-away character
in Embracing His Omega. Parker popped up practically out of nowhere in Burning For His Omega as Marcus’s twin brother. We stepped into this story thinking that, mostly, we were setting the stage for Marcus, who we’ve been talking about for ages.
We were so wrong.
Halfway through the book, we came to a dead stop and didn’t write Parker and Miles’s story for a month. Things were going haywire, we didn’t understand what the boys wanted, and it turned out we had to take a step out and step back from their story and step back in their time to what originally drove them apart: the loss of their baby. We’d talked about it in the first version of the story, but only in glancing mentions. When we came back to write, we put that first and foremost and their story finally fell together.
We hope you enjoyed their story as much as we have. We can’t wait to share Marcus’s story next. Because Marcus has been the biggest surprise of our writing careers, and he’s continuing to surprise us as we uncover his layers. Pun an innuendo absolutely intended, as Marcus would want.
About the Author
Harper B. Cole is the pseudonym of three bestselling authors (and best friends), Em, Kay, and Bea, who lie to their mothers about how they make their money. We love telling stories in the Omegaverse, and absolutely adore reading them. We are all mothers, and we'll probably lie to our kids about the existence of our books as well.
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Reclaiming His Omega: M/M Non-Shifter Alpha/Omega MPREG (Cafe Om Book 5) Page 18
