“Some.” Felix winces. “I’ll try to get a table set up. Or there’s the bed, I guess. That functions as a table, right?”
Kade snorts, turning the packet of chips in his hands. “I don’t work on beds.”
A crimson tint sweeps up Felix’s cheeks. Kade is suddenly aware of what he’s thinking, about what they do on beds instead. They’ve spent years of their history pressed together behind closed doors, sweat soaking into worn mattresses. “I’m sure you don’t,” Felix says. “You’d save your bed for more... suitable things.”
“Like what?” Kade’s voice dips, a kindling heat sinking down his body, gathering at his groin. He wants Felix pinned beneath him again, wants to smell the full weight of Felix’s scent, the musk of his arousal. “You know what I use my bed for?”
Green eyes darken. Felix’s gaze coasts down Kade’s body, lingering on his chest, his arms, his hips. Kade feels himself grow full in response, his pants stretching tight, and how did that happen, when he hasn’t moved from the convenience store racks, the packet of chips still in his hand?
Across the counter, Felix shifts as though his pants are too tight. “I’m sure you could enlighten me,” he croaks. “About your bed.”
Kade’s throat goes sandpaper-dry. He thinks about Felix arched under him, sees the way Felix’s nostrils flare to catch his scent, the way he reaches down to adjust his pants. Kade can’t help sliding a hand down his abs, tracing a finger along the hard line at his groin, from base to tip.
Felix groans. “Don’t do that.”
“Why?” Kade steps closer, closing the distance between them. Felix’s gaze clings to him, to the bulge in his pants. “I’m getting comfortable.”
Felix drags his eyes away, squirming. And there, just beneath the trace of lavender, Kade smells his musk. “We shouldn’t.... shouldn’t be talking about this.”
“You’re hard,” Kade murmurs, watching as Felix’s throat works. More quietly, “And I can fuck you up against the wall.”
Felix squeezes his eyes shut, his fingertips whitening against the counter. “Kade, please.”
Kade almost tastes the tang of his arousal. His own cock swells, and he almost crushes the bag of chips in his hand, setting it roughly on the counter. “You sell lube in this store?”
“I...” Felix bites down on his lip, turning it red. “I’ll look for it.”
And he turns, circling out from behind the counter, a hard line at the front of his pants. Kade trails behind him through the shelves, breathing in his musk, and he almost can’t wait for the weekend. Felix walks down one aisle, then the next. Kade’s attention snags on the jeans of his pants, the way it hugs the curve of his ass.
“Here,” Felix says, bending to snatch a bottle off a lower shelf. Kade keeps his arms to his side, fighting down the urge to grab his hips, to press up against him, let his omega feel his cock.
Felix sets the bottle in Kade’s hand when he straightens, fingertips caressing his palm. An electric sizzle shoots under Kade’s skin, and Felix shivers. Kade snags his wrist. “Wait,” he says. “You’re gonna just smell like sex right now.”
Felix squeezes his eyes shut, sucking in a shaky breath. “Damn it. That bastard’s going to come in and check on me.”
Bottle in hand, Kade rubs their wrists together, scent glands brushing, before dragging his wrist just under Felix’s jaw. Then, along the sides of his neck and down his shirt. Felix gulps. Kade reaches lower, grinding his wrist against the front of Felix’s pants, just over his cock. Felix flushes a deep shade of scarlet, rocking up against his wrist. He’s so hard behind his pants. Kade wants to push him up against the shelves.
Mine, he wants to growl. He pulls his wrist away, and Felix tries to follow with his hips.
“I’ll find a use for this,” Kade says, shaking the lube.
Felix pants, pupils blown. “Is there.... anything else you need?”
“Just this,” Kade says, following him back to the counter. “And the chips.” And you.
Felix scans the lube and chips with trembling hands. His breaths puff short and quick. Something in Kade’s chest settles, seeing his omega this aroused all because of him. It’s as though their past doesn’t matter.
“Six-eighty,” Felix says, glancing at the register. “Do you need a bag?”
“Nah.” Kade drops a few notes into his hand, fingertips brushing against Felix’s palm. They both shiver at the contact. “Gotta find a use for the lube, though. See you Saturday.”
Felix gulps. He sets the change in Kade’s palm, his fingers lingering. Felix drags his gaze away. “Okay. See you then.”
Something must be going right, if Kade’s got Felix agreeing to see him again. He walks out of the store, his scent strong on his omega. Maybe Felix doesn’t find him a disappointment. Maybe they can repair their relationship. Maybe things will work out this time.
7
Felix
The store smells like Kade. Felix smells like him, too, but it isn’t as noticeable as the musk lingering between the shelves, and at the counter where Kade had grown hard. All Felix had wanted was to drop to his knees and drag Kade’s pants down.
It’s not right that his instincts scream to please Kade, to rub himself against his alpha. In Highton, there had been groups protesting along the streets about omega rights. Felix knows the chants: Pay us equally. We have choices too. Omegas do not need an alpha.
But it’s not that between Kade and himself. He wants to screw Kade senseless because it’s always been the two of them, and Felix hadn’t known a time when Kade hadn’t been by his side, offering his protection and his body.
Kade has always been there, and how does Felix repay it? He ruins Kade’s life.
His cock throbs uncomfortably in his pants. He looks at his hands, throat dry, needing release. So he forces the thoughts out of his mind, stepping out around the counter, grabbing a set of newspapers to fan the scents out the door. Some of the
