Dale’s cheeks burned. He closed his eyes, wishing he could burn those memories away.
“What did he do?” Greg’s voice rumbled next to his ear, concerned.
He shook his head. “It’s in the past. Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s still bothering you, damn it. Tell me.”
“It wasn’t a pleasant marriage,” Dale said. “I mean, it was fine at first. They treated me with respect. But when I failed to conceive after six months, Charles started taking me to the doctor. His parents were pushing hard. I think they must’ve influenced him somehow... He started doubting me.”
“You were his goddamn husband. Did he...?” Greg sucked in a breath, horror flickering through his eyes.
“It wasn’t anything like violence,” Dale said, trying to ease the tension in Greg’s body.
He hadn’t wanted to tell Greg, not really. But he was risking his tenure, and he didn’t have the heart to tell Greg to leave.
So Dale tried telling Greg the ugly words, in the hopes that Greg would think the same and abandon him.
“His parents started calling me a whore. A greedy bitch. They said I was withholding pregnancies so Charles would give me more money before I conceived.” Dale looked away, his throat tight. He couldn’t meet Greg’s eyes. “They said I was a bad egg, that maybe my body was rotten and maybe they should’ve had Charles test me out before they sealed the marriage. And maybe they should have. I’m not... worthy. This pregnancy is a complete surprise to me, I swear.”
“What the actual fuck,” Greg said, his fingers pressing so hard into Dale’s arms they hurt. Dale yelped, and Greg released him immediately. “Sorry. But what the hell,” Greg snarled. “I can’t believe they did that to you. They’re goddamn scumbags! Your ex never told them to shut up?”
Dale shook his head. Greg’s eyes flashed.
“You actually stayed in that marriage,” Greg said, his voice low, dangerous. “You deserve better than that sort of crap.”
Dale sighed, leaning back into the pillows. “I make all the wrong decisions. Like this.”
When all was said and done, he was still a professor, and Greg was his student. And Greg was knotting inside him, stretching him open, their bodies locked together. Exactly what the first clause of his employment contract said not to do.
Greg was quiet for a moment. But his chest heaved, and Dale could feel the furious tension in his limbs, the way he looked as though he’d hunt down Charles and his parents, and rip them all up. It was very sweet of him.
“This isn’t wrong,” Greg said, his nostrils flared. “We’re alpha and omega.”
“And I’m also your teacher.”
Greg glanced at the paper cranes on the ceiling, the rumpled sheets on the bed, the strewn clothes on the floor. Then he looked back at Dale, pressing his nose into Dale’s neck. “No. Not here, you aren’t. I don’t need you to be my teacher in bed.”
Dale’s throat tightened. This, too, was new. He’d only been this close to Greg for two days—once last week, and once today. And it was comfortable. Nonjudgmental. It felt like he belonged, even though they hardly knew each other.
“I’m not anything,” Dale said. “There are so many better options for you out there.”
Greg hugged him tighter. “Honestly, I can’t see why anyone would annul a marriage with you. You’re—you’re good. Special.”
Dale’s cheeks heated. “Just special? After your tirade, I expected a better vocabulary from you.”
“Damn you. You want more words?” Greg scowled and kissed him on the lips. “You’re humble. Your lab lessons are kinda fun. You’re not constantly advertising your research group like the other profs.”
“That just means you like me as a teacher.”
Greg leaned away, his brows drawing low. Dale couldn’t fathom what Greg saw in him. “You need someone,” Greg said slowly. “And you’re so human. I’ve told you about the ink blotches on your shirt. That damn couch in your office. And if you saw yourself just now... You—you needed me.”
The words settled between them, heavy. Staring into Greg’s eyes, Dale knew he was serious. And maybe he could allow himself to believe in Greg. Believe that he could be loved.
“I won’t treat you like your bastard ex did,” Greg murmured. “You deserve better.”
“Maybe,” Dale said, sagging into the bed. Mostly, he wanted to be desired. He’d been watching Greg for months, admiring him. Thinking Greg deserved a better omega than himself. “But your father is still my employer, and there’s no circumventing that.”
Greg slid out when his knot receded, pulling Dale onto him as he rolled onto his back.
Dale’s cum smeared between their stomachs, cool and sticky. Dale winced. Greg kissed him.
“We’ll deal,” Greg said. “Shower more. My scent’s common, anyway. You could be sleeping with someone else who smells like me.”
“But anyone in our classes would smell us on each other.” Dale sighed, burrowing his face in Greg’s shoulder. “Perhaps you should sit at the front of class. So our scents would be difficult to differentiate.”
“Sounds good.”
Dale yawned. Fatigue bore down on him; after the day’s events, it was too much to handle all at once. The pregnancy, Greg, and the mind-blowing sex.
“Grab some sleep,” Greg said. “I’ll shower, then come join you in bed. Get you a towel to wipe down if you don’t wanna come along.”
Dale’s pulse skipped. This, he wasn’t used to. “That’s generous of you. Very forward.”
“Have I been not forward?” Greg smiled, kissing him again. “Leave some space for me in bed.”
And as scandalous as it sounded, Dale wanted him here. Greg’s presence calmed him more than anything else had done.
11
Dale
Dale awoke the next day to the tantalizing aroma of coffee and bacon. It smelled like a dream, and he rolled over in bed, trying to ignore his rumbling stomach.
Except he caught a telltale whiff of aspen and musk in his sheets. His eyes snapped open, his hands fumbling
