He was leaving his scent on Dale. Marking him.
Blood surged down Dale’s body, right to his cock. The thought of being Greg’s omega... His body sang with that idea, a throbbing hum through his limbs. I can’t believe I want this. I’m a professor. Cheeks scalding, he squeezed past the leaving students, calling out, “You guys take a seat first! I’ll be back for class!”
Greg’s stare clung to his back the entire way down the corridor.
The moment he rounded a corner, Dale breathed a sigh. Then he raised his wrist to his nose, sniffing at the new aspen scent. Greg had marked him. Just a little, but it lingered, enough to set his cheeks burning.
Aside from June, Dale hadn’t been marked in years. He’d slept with alphas, worn their scents, but this... It was different. Greg wanted him. And it felt a little like belonging, a little like acceptance. Greg knew nothing about Dale’s infertility. He was too young.
But more than a family, Dale craved being needed. He hadn’t realized this until now.
Maybe Greg was just after him for a notch in his belt.
Dale sucked in a deep breath, then released it. That was okay. It was nice having someone want him, and Dale... didn’t want to give in. If he did, maybe Greg would fuck him and leave. And being wanted was better than being left behind.
When Dale returned to the classroom, he was calmer, in control of his aching body. He breezed into the classroom with a smile. “Sorry I’m late—a slight issue came up. Let’s get started with class.”
The students looked questioningly at him. Dale shrugged, handing the stack of graded assignments to the closest student. He avoided Greg’s stare and set his class schedule in front of his seat.
“I’ll be explaining questions from two assignments today,” Dale said, drawing the answers from the first assignment on the board. “You should have completed the homework on nanoparticles.”
The lesson built momentum as time ticked by. Greg didn’t ask questions—he usually scored full marks on his assignments. Not that Dale was paying special attention to him, or anything like that.
Dale breezed through questions on nano dots and iron particles, the various synthesis methods in current research, and included a short segment about his lab’s nanoparticle projects. He knew some professors vigorously promoted their own research groups, hoping to attract the brightest minds to their stable.
All he wanted were students who loved chemistry, who would be willing to learn. It made his research lab a less competitive place, so everyone could afford to joke around a little.
Dale kept talking, sometimes going on tangents with the questions, sometimes breezing through others. Greg kept watching him, and Dale kept talking. If he stopped thinking about his work, he’d start imagining what he looked like to Greg instead, thin and awkward in front of his students. He wasn’t attractive, or special. He had nothing to offer a rich young alpha.
The stack of assignments drifted along the rows of students. Dale lost track of where it went.
Twenty minutes before the end of class, he started to explain the first question from the graded assignment, the one he’d distributed to the class. Greg raised his hand.
Dale’s stomach squeezed. What do you want?
For a second, Dale considered ignoring him. If he turned and explained the next few questions, Greg would probably put his hand down.
Except the other students would notice, and Dale didn’t need them drawing conclusions about him and Greg, when a trace of Greg’s scent was already on him. “Yes, Greg?”
“You didn’t grade my assignment,” Greg said.
Dale’s stomach sank. Of course he’d forgotten, when he’d been rushing through the assignments, trying not to be distracted by his heat. He’d shoved Greg’s homework under the pile and had no time to grade it, and now it had come back to bite him.
Acutely aware of the students’ stares, Dale nodded. “I’ll grade it after class. Could you hang on to it for now?”
“I’ll come by your office.”
“Sure.” The moment it left his lips, Dale knew it was the worst thing he could’ve said. He was in heat. And Greg would be alone with him.
Greg’s eyes dropped to Dale’s hips, like he had plans for a private viewing. Visceral need tore through Dale’s body. He spun on his feet, lifting his marker to the whiteboard, hoping no one saw the strain of his cock in his pants. He needed to calm down. Needed to stop thinking about Greg’s gaze on his naked ass. Or Greg spreading him open, touching his hole. Licking it.
It was 10:45 AM on a Wednesday, and Dale wanted Greg Hastings to fill him with potent seed.
His skin flushed hot. The marker trembled in his hand. Stop thinking. Focus on the assignment.
Dale spoke over his shoulder, raising his voice. He explained question after question on semiconducting solids, blathering about electrons and band gaps. Everything he said was something he’d memorized ages ago, and he couldn’t think. His pants were tight.
If he turned around, the class would see the outline of his cock. He couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t let Greg see it, let him realize how much Dale wanted him.
Except he was a little wet, too, and maybe Greg could smell that.
By the time he got to the last question, his skin was damp with sweat. Dale probably reeked of musk, and everyone in class had probably figured he was in heat. And the only alpha scent he had on him was a light touch on his arm, indiscernible to anyone else but Greg.
How embarrassing.
“That’s all for today’s class,” Dale said, his legs trembling. “Please email me if you have any questions. I won’t be in my office this afternoon, but feel free to come by tomorrow.”
He scooped up the loose sheets of paper on his desk. In those seconds, Greg’s gaze scalded his skin, hot and hungry. And Dale’s heat throbbed along his limbs, intensified the ache in his body.
He needed to get away. Needed Greg’s body pressed up against
