Dom squeezed his hand, his expression unreadable. “Did you make a decision?”
Jesse nodded. “Yeah. I want it.”
And he hoped it wasn’t too late.
Surprise flickered through Dom’s face. Then he cracked a smile, pressing a kiss to Jesse’s knuckles. “Baby’s fine. He missed the uterus by half an inch.”
Jesse breathed out shakily, sagging back into the bed. It felt like all his muscles had decided to take a break at the same time. “Oh. What about—What about the poisons? Did they hurt it?”
“We gave you the antidotes in time. It’s really fine, Sinclair.” Dom stroked the back of his hand, waiting until Jesse relaxed again. After a pause, Dom asked, “What made you change your mind?”
Jesse remembered thinking about Dom, he remembered the connection he’d felt to that life inside him, right as Larson cut him open. “It’s yours,” he said.
Then he flushed. Dom wasn’t supposed to find out what Jesse felt for him.
But Dom frowned. “I won’t force you to keep it just because it’s mine.”
“No, it’s not that.” Jesse wet his lips. “I want it because it’s yours.”
His face grew hot. That was almost as good as a love declaration, wasn’t it? After he’d told Dom I hate you so many times, it wasn’t something he expected to say to this alpha.
Dom stared at him for a moment. Then he pulled his chair closer, his voice dropping low. “Yeah? You want to raise a family with me?”
How had a discussion about a baby turned into that? Jesse’s head grew so hot, it felt like he might pass out. “It’s too—too early to think about it,” he spluttered.
Dom’s smile didn’t even fade. In fact, he moved to sit on the mattress, linking their fingers together. There were bandages on his arm, a trace of blood soaking through the gauze.
Jesse remembered that, too. Dom taking the shot for him. Dom turning to make sure he was okay. In his heart, he thought... maybe that meant Dom loved him. But Dom would do the same for anyone else on their team. “You took a shot for me,” he said. And Dom had been lucky that bullet hadn’t hit his artery.
“Yeah, well.” Dom shrugged, the movement causing him to wince a little. “You took a shot for me, so we’re even.”
That wasn’t what Jesse wanted to hear. He looked away, trying to hide his disappointment.
Except Dom leaned in, bracing his good arm against Jesse’s pillow. And now their faces were inches apart. “Did you want me to say something else?” Dom murmured.
Jesse’s heart squeezed tight. Had Dom read him? “No,” he mumbled.
Dom brought their faces closer, his lips brushing Jesse’s cheek. “I told you,” he whispered. “You don’t lie so well, Sinclair.”
Jesse couldn’t breathe. Dom was pressed up against him. They’d been close before, but this... It felt like Dom knew his last secret. And Jesse wanted him to know, at the same time he was afraid of it. What would Dom do with that knowledge? It wasn’t like Dom loved him back.
Dom cupped Jesse’s face with his other hand, pressing their foreheads together. And suddenly there was only Dom and nothing else, and all he could breathe was Dom’s scent. Jesse’s heart pounded so fervently, he thought it might burst.
“I love you,” Dom whispered, his breath hot on Jesse’s lips.
Jesse froze, the words ringing in his ears. He’d thought he’d heard it, back when he was coming down from his episode. He thought he’d heard it again, later on, but he’d dismissed it as a fever dream.
He stared at Dom now, hardly daring to believe it. They were teammates. They were alphas. They weren’t supposed to fall in love. Except he’d heard Dom’s words, clear as anything.
It was what he’d wanted for a long time. His throat grew so tight, he couldn’t speak. “You’re kidding.”
“Do I ever joke?” Dom brushed his cheek, his gaze never once leaving Jesse’s face. “Want me to say it again?”
Jesse nodded. He still couldn’t breathe.
Dom dropped trailing kisses down Jesse’s cheek, to his ear. Then he growled, “I love you, Sinclair.”
Jesse’s heart squeezed tight. Dom loves me. “But—But why?”
Dom huffed. “That’s not good enough for you?”
“No,” Jesse said, because he needed to believe it. “You know me better than anyone else. I’ve been captured, Dom. I’ve been tied down and—” He looked at the bump of his abdomen. “I couldn’t stop a lot of the things Larson did. I tried. I wasn’t strong enough.”
He was still ashamed of it, even now. Even though his mom and dad had accepted him. But they were his parents. Maybe they were supposed to.
Dom was different. Dom was an alpha. Someone who didn’t need another alpha. Much less one who was fractured like Jesse was. Dom could have his own standards of what an alpha should be, and... Jesse was always afraid to ask if he met those standards.
Dom cradled his head, looking into his eyes. “You’re strong.”
“All alphas are supposed to be strong.”
Dom huffed and kissed him. “You’ve been through a lot more than most alphas. I can’t say I could undergo what you have, and come out nearly as intact.”
“But you’re a dom.”
Dom smiled wryly. “And it’d be a great honor for you to be my alpha.”
Jesse’s heart tumbled. Dom accepted him for who he was. “You haven’t given me enough proof yet.”
Dom laughed. “You’re not bitter about your past. At least, not as bitter as I’d expect you to be.”
“I just want it behind me.” Jesse scowled.
“Yeah. Not everyone can do that.” Dom kissed his jaw. “You’re kind—”
“So’s everyone else on the team. You aren’t sleeping with them.”
“Nor do I want to.”
“Why not?”
Dom grinned. “Do you want to, then? Sleep with Gareth or York or—”
That was a horrible thought. “Shut up.” But it wouldn’t get his question answered. “Forget it. Just
