“Why’d you keep Hazel?” Raph asked.
What Raph meant was, Why’d you keep Max’s baby when he’d abused you?
Wyatt closed his eyes, breathing through his nose. It had been a difficult decision. He’d been afraid that the baby would end up looking like Max, and maybe he’d get panic attacks just by glancing at his child.
But Hazel had ended up taking after Wyatt, from her hazel eyes to her blond hair. Wyatt had been beyond relieved when there wasn’t a trace of Max on her. Not that he wanted to remember Max at all.
“I figured... it isn’t the baby’s fault,” he said, looking down at the C-section scar. The abortion pills had given him rashes, his body scorching with fever. A physical abortion meant he’d have to deal with a stranger’s touch.
Keeping the child had been the only other choice, back then.
Raph wrung the towel dry, dropping to a kneel in front of Wyatt. He wiped Wyatt’s face first, the warmth of the towel soaking into his skin. It felt good. Refreshing. Wyatt sighed, leaning into his hands.
“I missed you,” he blurted. “Sorry I didn’t... didn’t contact you.”
Raph met his eyes briefly. “I don’t blame you—I should be the one sorry. That afternoon... I should’ve been more careful. She could’ve dropped by any moment, and I knew we were playing with fire. It’s not your fault.”
But Wyatt had all but begged Raph to touch him. Grandma had been watching them through the weeks prior, her eyes like a hawk’s. She’d always disliked Wyatt—she was Dad’s mother, and she’d wanted Dad to stay married to Dad’s first wife. Except Raph’s mom had died, and Dad had found a second wife when Raph turned seven—Wyatt’s mom.
“Grandma’s your boss, isn’t she?” Wyatt asked quietly.
Raph looked away. “She just owns the company. I don’t report directly to her.”
The fact remained that they all owed Grandma something or other. As the owner of the Alpha Associates Bank, Grandma could very well sink Raph’s reputation like a rock. She owned the mansion their parents lived in, and she’d paid for all their education, back when they were growing up.
Wyatt had dropped out of college when he’d found out that Dad had borrowed to pay for his tuition. He didn’t want his dad deeper in debt—Grandma liked keeping Mom and Dad under her control. Why they continued to stay in this mansion... Mom had refused to say, but Wyatt suspected it had something to do with Grandma.
Raph dragged the washcloth along Wyatt’s throat, then down his chest, his arms. “If you’re pregnant... We’ll figure something out.”
Wyatt’s stomach sank again. “I hope so.”
“We will.”
Raph rinsed the towel off, then wiped down Wyatt’s legs, and the creases between his thighs. Raph’s knot had receded by now; he looked good anyway, from the damp shirt clinging to his chest, to his strong thighs parted around Wyatt’s feet. And his eyes... Wyatt had always loved his eyes, blue as an ocean’s depths.
“Just wanted to say you’re so damn brave,” Raph said. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around for you. I should’ve.”
Wyatt’s heart squeezed. Raph dragged the fluffy washcloth between his toes, then down his soles, and up his heels. When he was done with Wyatt’s feet, he looked up, meeting Wyatt’s gaze.
Raph looked vulnerable in that moment, kneeling by Wyatt’s feet, his face so open.
So Wyatt cupped his cheeks, leaned in, and kissed his forehead.
“It’s not your fault, either,” Wyatt whispered, his pulse pattering. They were being too intimate as brothers. But as alpha and omega... it worked. It felt right. And he didn’t know which he should do—follow his heart, or his mind. “I shouldn’t have tried seducing you back then. You know, before.”
“But today was fine?” Raph smiled crookedly.
Wyatt swallowed. Today had been more than fine. It had been amazing—far better than any sex with Max. And maybe Wyatt should’ve let Raph back into his life earlier. Or maybe they shouldn’t have done this at all.
Raph straightened, draped the towel on the edge of the sink, and pulled Wyatt to his feet. “C’mon. We shouldn’t be here. Are you staying for the rest of the party?”
“No. I’m done. I was just here to say hi and drop the noodles—they’re probably gone by now. I told Mom and Dad I’d leave after a swim.”
Blue eyes met his. Raph blinked. “Wait. The noodles...”
“Wy’s Drive-In. Didn’t you dig that up?” Wyatt couldn’t help smiling, then. Raph had cared about him all these years, enough to know about his ex, and his daughter. And it warmed his heart, made his pulse skip.
“Oh, fuck. I’d forgotten about that. So that tramp stamp on your back...”
“It’s my restaurant’s logo. Without my name.” Wyatt turned to show it to him, laughing now. “You thought it was meant to seduce you?”
Raph flattened his palms over his eyes, his cheeks darkening. “Damn it. I did that in front of the whole party.”
“Yes, you did.”
Raph groaned. Then he dropped his hands and stepped in close, looking down at Wyatt. “You could’ve said it earlier,” he whispered, his breath feathering over Wyatt’s lips.
“Maybe. But I wanted to see how you’d react,” Wyatt whispered back.
They were brothers, he and Raph. But back in that piano room nine years ago, Raph’s lips had felt right on his. And Wyatt didn’t know what separated brothers from lovers; whether it was something physical, or emotional. Or maybe it was a blood thing, and they had no shared blood at all.
He brushed his lips over Raph’s, a whisper of skin on skin.
Then he stepped back, and held Raph’s gaze. “I should be leaving.”
“Wait,” Raph said, reaching down, fingers meeting his bare thigh. His pants were rumpled somewhere on the floor. “Your number. Your email. Some way I can get in touch.”
“Visit my website,” Wyatt said, grinning. “All my contact
