by L. C. Davis
Did he know? He'd written the goddamn book on the subject, but Connor didn't need to know that. Connor's heat pheromones were in full swing by that point and it was all Duke could do to keep his thoughts on track. "So what, it backfired?"
"Obviously."
"Okay, so what can I do to help?"
Connor looked at him with newfound wariness, like the mastermind behind most of the problems the TTF solved couldn't quite make sense of the enigma standing in front of him. Duke reached out on impulse to help him up but he knew the moment his skin brushed Connor's that was a mistake.
The omega seemed to know, too. As he looked into Duke's eyes, Connor turned into the one thing the alpha would have gone to his grave swearing he could never be: vulnerable. Not weak, just terrified and uncertain for what had to be the first time in his life. Certainly the first time since he'd donned the name every wolf in the Federation had come to fear. He seemed torn for a few seconds about something beyond Duke's ability to guess before he clenched his jaw and looked away. "I can't go back out there. I don't want anyone to know I'm...in heat." The words seemed to stick in his throat and his lips curled around them in a snarl.
Duke took a step closer before forcing himself to stop. Getting closer to Connor was the last thing he needed. It was hard enough to keep his wolf quiet in his head, and its constant baying was making it even harder to remember why he couldn't have the omega whose flushed skin and flowering scent seemed to be beckoning him.
A strange look passed over Connor's face as he seemed to come to some realization. Duke would have gladly asked him to share if every word he'd learned in nearly thirty years of living. "Help me." Even though it came out like a demand rather than a request, Duke found himself all too willing to oblige.
"How?"
Rather than answer with words, Connor dropped his gaze and ran his hands down Duke's chest. The alpha's body responded immediately, like his arousal was a lock only the omega before him possessed the key to. All his control and willpower came to naught as those nimble hands explored the planes of his chest and made quick work of his fly.
"What are you --?"
Connor leaned up to silence him with a kiss, his lips as warm and inviting as Duke had always known they would be. Common sense was long off the table by the time he took the omega in his arms and returned the kiss with all the force he'd been holding back. He somehow managed to be gentler with his right hand as he loosed the omega's hair from its elastic band and dug into it. Those thick, dark tresses were even softer to the touch than he had ever imagined and as he pressed Connor into the wall behind him, the only thing that held him back was the flash of fear he'd seen in the omega's eyes before.
With every shred of will he had left, Duke managed to break the kiss, pushing the omega away from him even as he held his arms firmly in his grasp. "If this is a game --"
"It's not." Connor's words came through gritted teeth and the irritation in them took Duke by surprise. "I need to be out of heat, and that's the one fucking thing your kind is good for. Help me or I'll find another alpha who will, it doesn't matter to me."
The thought alone was enough to send Duke into a fit of rage in his hormone-fueled state, but he channeled the anger into something more productive, for the moment. There wasn't any way in hell he was letting any other alpha put his hands on his omega. If this encounter entwined their lives even more, he'd find a way to deal with it, but his need for the omega was already at its peak and he couldn't hold back anymore. Not now that his own hang-ups were the only thing standing between him and what he had always wanted from the moment he'd set eyes on Connor. The fact that they hated each other just as much ceased to matter when he took Connor into his arms and allowed his hands to explore as freely and greedily as they had wanted to all night.
Keeping a civil distance between his body and the omega's on the dance floor had been torturous foreplay, and it was all he could do to keep from shredding Connor's suit as he tried to tug the jacket off the smaller man's shoulders. Connor raised a hand to stop him without breaking the kiss and would only allow Duke to open his shirt, not to fully undress him. He growled with frustration that turned to a purr as his hands brushed over the smooth planes of Connor's chest. How something so hard on the inside could feel like silk under his fingertips was one of life's great mysteries, and Duke would have been more than content to spend the whole night unraveling it.
Duke's hand slipped into the waistband of Connor's underwear, gripping the generous shaft that was already getting hard for him. Connor's length was considerable for an omega, even though he wasn't nearly as long or as thick as the alpha, and Duke's mouth watered with a different kind of hunger. He had given his lovers oral pleasure in the past, but it was always more a matter of foreplay than his own desire. This was different. He needed to taste the omega, needed the slit of his dick leaking precum onto his tongue as he prepped him for the claim that he'd been fighting against for so long. He lowered to his knees and Connor's shaft sprang free of his boxers with a firm tug. Duke gripped the base of it and his lips tingled with anticipation of how it would feel to worship every inch of the other man's slender shaft, but Connor's hand gripped his hair with a gentle tug that stopped him short.
The alpha frowned up at his mate in confusion. "No need for that." It made no damn sense and Duke let out a growl to suggest as much, but he dragged himself to his feet. This wasn't their mating night and it wasn't about freely exploring Connor's body the way he had only ever allowed himself to in his dreams, it was about giving the omega what he needed. It was practical, clinical. No matter how many times he reminded himself of that fact, it just wouldn't stick, but when Connor reached into the alpha's slacks and gripped his shaft in his firm, warm palm, his focus was successfully redirected.
The touch felt so good Duke's knees nearly buckled. His hands left the omega's body only to plant against the wall for support. Connor's eyes danced in amusement under the moonlight as he stroked, well aware of the effect his touch was having. Most omegas would have blushed or glanced away, but not him. He stared the alpha down in challenge, daring him to break eye contact. Duke was beyond posturing and displays of dominance. Instinct had fully taken over and he claimed the omega's lips in hopes of putting an end to the torment.
Connor's hand fell away and Duke's cock stood hard and erect. Duke told himself he was imagining the look of approval that crossed the omega's features, but the way Connor's tongue swept over his lips to wet them made him second guess his own second guessing. "There is something to be said for those farm-raised Council wolves," he murmured.
Duke pulled the omega to his chest, cradling his head to keep it protected as he took them both down to the floor. He wanted Connor on his back where he could see those full lips part as the breath passed short and ragged between them. He settled between his lover's legs, barely retaining the presence of mind to reach between them to prepare him before giving in to the full-on invasion his body and Connor's pheromones demanded. Connor gasped and arched into Duke's hand as two thick fingers delved into his tight passage. The natural lubricant omegas secreted made it easier and less painful to prepare him, but Duke could tell it was still painful and did his best to be gentle. Easier said than done when he was easily twice the other man's size. The omega gripped him tighter than he expected, his own shaft fully erect and flat against his taut stomach.
The moment Duke's fingers brushed Connor's spot he knew if only because of the way the omega's torso came off the floor, arching desperately like it was the first time he'd ever been touched. The thought that maybe it was dissipated as quickly as it surfaced. There was just no way the Cutter was a virgin. He controlled and manipulated alphas like playthings. Surely he'd had his share of fun with them in bed. Duke knew better than to think any sounds or responses to his touch were as genuine as they seemed, but the small, pleasured moans escaping Connor's lips had his common sense and his instincts in a standoff, as usual.
"Please." This time, there was no mi
staking the pleading in Connor's voice. The sound sent a surge of arousal through the alpha's body that made him shudder with need. He needed no further invitation as he grabbed Connor's hips and slid him down further, positioning himself at the omega's entrance as he pushed his silken thighs further apart. Connor's eyes widened with something like fear, but he nodded earnestly, his hands buried in Duke's hair, clutching desperately.
With a few thrusts far more careful than he would have thought himself capable of being, the head of Duke's shaft slipped in past Connor's locked entrance. The omega's teeth were gritted and his eyes clenched in pain, but the only sound that escaped him was a gasp. Duke held himself back, stilling for a moment to allow Connor's tightly clenched hole to relax around him and acclimate to his girth, knowing full well the omega was too prideful to ask him to slow down. The knowledge that he had to be aware of his partner's limits to keep from doing any actual damage had the sobering effect he needed to get control over the wolf in his head, over the instincts that were already threatening to consume him.
After a moment, Connor's breathing grew steady and he arched his back, beckoning the alpha deeper. Duke was happy to oblige, settling one hand on the floor beside Connor's head while exploring the omega's lean chest with his other. He traced his way up that smooth, pale flesh to twirl his fingertip around a dusty pink bud. Connor's nipple hardened immediately and seeing the physiological response to his touch was doing things to Duke's head that no conquest ever had.
Connor shivered underneath his touch, and suddenly he felt like a frail and tender thing. Duke was overwhelmed by the realization that his mate really was an omega, for all his defiance and deviation from the norm. With every thrust, Connor's hole seemed to become slicker with need, pulling him even deeper. The omega's shaft was hard and pressed hot against his stomach, creating the sweetest friction as Duke ground into him.
So this was what it felt like to be buried in an omega, wrapped in silken warmth. Duke had never fully understood the fixation beyond the biochemical element, but the mechanics alone were bliss. He had bedded his share of betas over the years and even a few alphas, but there was nothing like the combination of chemical, physical and emotional sensations washing over him with each thrust. It was more than just what he was feeling, it was the faint yet undeniable waves of pleasure he could feel coming off the omega writhing beneath him.
Duke swept his hand across Connor's skin, able to see the faintest outline of something shimmering over it. It wasn't just the thin sheen of exertion, either. Whatever this was, illusion or energy, it had a faint blue glow to it and the harder he looked, the easier it was to see it. He watched in fascination as the glow rose and pulsed in time to the pulse he could feel throbbing against his own deep inside Connor's core. The strange blue glimmer seemed to be responding to the omega's pleasure, making an even more enticing game out of finding new ways to hit his spot.
Connor's face was flushed and his nails dug into Duke's back to pull him even closer, his legs wrapped around the alpha's waist as he bucked his hips with need. The scent of his heat was mingling with Duke's pheromones in a heady cocktail of lust. Somehow, he had always imagined that Connor would be as fierce in bed as he was in all other regards, but the man beneath him was almost unrecognizably pliant to his every touch, too deep in his own bliss to pose any demands. Duke knew better than to think that submission, as unconscious as it seemed to be, would ever extend to the other parts of Connor's life, but somehow that made it all the more intriguing.
The alpha nipped his lover's neck just above the collar, knowing he was playing a dangerous game. Connor's nails dug into his back in warning and he released the gentle bite, even though part of him wanted nothing more than to turn him over, grip the back of his neck in his teeth and take him from behind. Maybe one day Connor would let him...
Duke shook his head to clear it of the foolish thought. That kind of thinking was far more dangerous than anything they had done. He settled his hands on the omega's hips and returned his focus to burying himself as deep inside as possible. He wasn't even thinking of his knot. It rarely made an appearance when he was mating with a beta unless he was highly, dizzyingly aroused, so it was easy to forget what the tension in the base of his shaft meant the closer he came to orgasm.
Connor's eyes met his, wide with equal parts worry and lust where there had only been desire a moment ago. Before Duke could ask him what he needed, the omega moved sharply underneath him and the sudden change in angle made the alpha's knot swell inside of him. Connor let out a sharp gasp, arching into Duke.
"Fuck!"
"Sorry," he gritted out. "You moved, it just came out."
"This is fucking great," he seethed, going from mewling in desperation to scolding in an instant.
"I could try to pull out..."
Connor's eyes widened in horror. "You'll kill me, you idiot," he snapped.
"Okay, okay. Calm down," Duke muttered. "God, it's not like it's the first time you've taken an alpha's knot."
He expected a scathing comeback, but the haunted look in the omega's eyes was a punch in the gut. He found himself wishing he could reel the words back in even though he wasn't sure how they had managed to hit some mark he'd never even intended. Surely Connor didn't take any great deal of pride in being chaste.
"Just finish," he growled.
Duke hesitated. "You make it sound like there's a user manual."
"There is. You come, your knot eventually goes down," he said with clearly strained patience. "Somehow I think even you can manage that."
Duke frowned. "I can't."
"Why the hell not?"
"Because I'm not gonna be able to get off on using you like a sex toy," he muttered. "It's not exactly a turn-on if you're not enjoying yourself as much as I am."
Connor rolled his eyes. "Of all the alphas... fine," he muttered, settling his hands on Duke's shoulders. Somehow, he managed to flip the alpha onto his back so he was riding his lap, Duke's knot buried even deeper within him. The omega winced as he settled on top and Duke would have protested if the sight of Connor riding his dick wasn't so mesmerizing. The omega's irritated expression soon softened to the pleasure that had been there moments earlier and he rested his hands on Duke's solid abdomen as he bucked against the alpha's knot.
A soft whimper escaped the omega's lips as he bit his lip to stifle it. Duke reached out instinctively to stroke him but the omega redirected his hand to his shaft. A low purr of approval rumbled through Duke's chest as he took the omega's cue and began stroking his shaft in earnest. The fact that Connor was wrapped around his knot, arching into it at just the right angle would have been enough to push him over the edge, but the spray of the omega's bliss over his stomach finished the job. Duke gave Connor's spent member one last stroke and relished the way the omega clenched and shuddered around him as he was filled completely with the alpha's cum. Duke raised a sticky hand to his lips and took his time licking the sweet nectar off his fingertips. When he opened his eyes, Connor was watching him in a mixture of confusion and irritation.
"What's wrong?"
"I've never met an alpha who couldn't come unless his partner was getting off."
Duke cocked an eyebrow, propping himself up on his elbows. "That's kind of sad."
Connor looked away and if Duke hadn't known better, he would have thought the omega's cheeks were glowing redder than they already were from exertion. "How long does it usually take for your knot to go down?" he asked, still breathless as he struggled to gather his hair back only to realize he didn't have an elastic. The way it spilled around his shoulders was enough to make Duke hard again, but the death glare the omega was giving him made him divert his thoughts to far less romantic fare. Taxes, horror movies, anything decidedly non-erotic.
It didn't seem to be working, but he was trying. "I don't know, it doesn't happen often," he admitted. "Never with an omega."
Connor muttered something under his breath that was almost certainly less than flattering. Duk
e's ears were still ringing from the high of the most intense orgasm he had ever experienced. He knew he owed an apology to every alpha he'd ever mocked for being "drunk on omega pheromones." If the effect Connor's were still having on him was any indication, he was addicted.
"Don't look at me like that," Connor snapped.
"Like what?"
"With the same dopey look Hassan is always giving Mel and Toval. It's repulsive."
"Sorry?" He tried his best to look less dopey, but there was nothing he could do about the warmth that stirred deep in his chest whenever his eyes met Connor's. Had they always been so blue?
Connor groaned, repositioning himself as if he couldn't quite get comfortable. "Here," Duke offered, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him as he shifted their positions, pulling Connor down next to him. The need to hold the omega in his arms and let him know he was safe until his knot went down was just as strong as the lust had been, even if they were distinct sensations. "Better?"
"It's fine," Connor mumbled, clearly trying not to cuddle. He kept his arms folded to his chest and fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, one leg hitched over the alpha's hip. "This is humiliating."
"Why?" Duke asked, finding himself desperate to understand. He reached out to caress Connor's cheek and the omega seemed too shocked by the gesture to pull away.
"It just is. I hate this," he growled. "The biological reminders, the differences."
Duke would have understood perfectly a day before, but he was overcome with a sense of appreciation for those differences that was entirely foreign to him. It was one thing to know what his knot was for and to be aware of how an omega's body was wired to respond to it, but experiencing it was a whole different story. Not just an omega. His omega. It had become a possessive chant in his mind, a steady rhythm that seemed to keep time with Connor's heart. How could he ever stop being so acutely aware of that rhythm when his very life seemed to depend on its continuation?
