Wyatt cracked a smile. “I don’t know.”
He looked vulnerable in that moment, a man who had been broken, who had thought about his worst fears, and cried. And Raph leaned in, scooping Wyatt against his chest, savoring him. “I’m here. I won’t ever leave you. And you deserve all my love.”
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
Wyatt pressed his face into Raph’s shoulder, his hands coming up, touching Raph tentatively. Unlike the other weeks, when he’d fondled Raph after they’d had sex, he was cautious today, his fingers slowly exploring Raph’s skin, his eyes melancholy.
“What happened to you?” Raph whispered, brushing his fingers over Wyatt’s cheeks. “Why... why even any of this?”
Wyatt opened his mouth, then closed it. For long moments, he struggled to answer. And Raph realized he shouldn’t be putting his omega through this. Not when Wyatt had sobbed, when he was so fragile right now.
“I’m sorry,” Raph whispered, kissing his eyebrows, his forehead. “I won’t ever hurt you like that again.”
Wyatt chuckled, his lips twisting into a wry smile. “I don’t think you can, Raph. You’re so... good. Kind. Brave.”
“There’s nothing brave about what I just did.” Raph cradled Wyatt’s face. “I love you. I don’t know how to quantify it, short of marriage.”
Wyatt huffed. “You’d marry me?”
“Yeah.” Raph kissed his lips. Then he kissed Wyatt’s jaw, and the scent gland at the crook of his neck. “You’re my omega.”
“Are you... going to prove it?”
“I will.” Raph kissed further down, to Wyatt’s belly, kissing the dark line of hair, and the silver scar there. “Mine.”
Wyatt sucked in a shaky breath. “You’re too good to me, Raph.”
Raph smiled. “So mark me,” he said, nuzzling Wyatt’s round belly. “Unless you’d rather not.”
Red feathered across Wyatt’s cheeks. Raph dragged both his wrists over Wyatt’s belly, down his thighs, covering Wyatt with his own scent.
Slowly, Wyatt brushed his wrist over Raph’s forehead, down his cheek. He left a trace of magnolia and honey, and it felt right, Wyatt marking him like that. Wyatt staking his claim on Raph, because Raph had always belonged to him.
He’d considered it sometimes, when he felt like a sap, but maybe he’d been waiting for Wyatt all along.
“I’ve always been yours,” Raph said, catching Wyatt’s wrist, pressing his cheek into Wyatt’s palm. “Maybe since we were kids.”
Wyatt’s mouth fell open. He licked his lips, his thumb stroking carefully over Raph’s skin. “That’s... that’s kind of you to say.”
“I want you to believe me.” Raph turned slightly, pressing a kiss to Wyatt’s palm. “I’ve never had a bondmate, Wy. Not until you.”
Wyatt’s cheeks darkened. He swallowed, looking away.
“You’re the strongest omega I know.”
“I’m not—”
“You are.” Raph kissed down Wyatt’s chest, dragging his wrists along Wyatt’s sides, marking him with teak. “You’ve gotten back on your feet after Max. You raised your daughter by yourself.”
“I had help.”
“At the end of the day, you’re still the one with Hazel,” Raph said, his chest warm. “Pen and Sam may babysit, but Hazel’s the one returning to you every day. You’ve been supporting her all this time, Wy. She’s a great kid, and a lot of that is from you. Don’t discount that.”
Wyatt stared at him, speechless. “I—I don’t—”
“Don’t you dare say you don’t deserve it.”
“But you just told me I don’t deserve anything.” Wyatt sagged.
Raph surged back up the bed, caught him by the jaw, and kissed him hard, slipping into his mouth. Wyatt groaned, his feet sliding against Raph’s calves, his hands winding into Raph’s hair, holding him close.
“You deserve all the good things,” Raph said.
“Really?” Wyatt whispered against his lips.
“I’ll mark you again, if that’s what will make you believe.” Raph caught Wyatt’s wrist, rubbed his thumb over the scent gland there. And Wyatt trembled, his eyes turning dark. “I love you, Wyatt Fleming. And I’ll stay with you and raise our baby. And Hazel too, if you want.”
Wyatt gulped, his eyes disbelieving. “Hazel, too?”
“All of you are my family,” Raph murmured. “I’d adopt Hazel as my daughter. I’d love to have her.”
Wyatt’s chuckle began as a rumble in his chest. It lit up his eyes, his face, and when he laughed, tears glittered on his lashes.
Raph held his breath. “Gods, Wy. I didn’t mean to make you cry again.”
“I’m happy, Raph.” Wyatt clasped Raph’s hands, holding them tight. “I don’t—don’t believe I deserve you.”
Raph was about to protest, when Wyatt shook his head to stop him. “I’d love to have you be dads with me,” Wyatt said. “I think Hazel would love to have you, too. You’d have to ask her yourself. But what’s important—what’s most important—is that you’re here. I can’t... can’t thank you enough for tonight.”
“I hurt you tonight.”
Wyatt sucked in a deep breath, held it, and exhaled. His voice was still nasally from his stuffed nose. But he smiled, looking down at his belly. “I believe you,” he said. “It hurt when you said those things. But I asked you to do all that, and I knew you’d stop if I wanted.”
“I don’t understand why you’d want to get hurt,” Raph said. “Or how the hell you even get hard from that.”
Wyatt shivered. “I don’t know how I do, either. But when you say things like that... it goes straight down to my cock. Maybe I’m broken.”
If that was Wyatt’s thing, then that was fine. Raph would accept that. He leaned in, nuzzling Wyatt’s cheek. “Either way, I’m sorry for hurting you.”
“Don’t be.”
Raph scooped Wyatt up and rolled them around, so Wyatt lay on top of his chest. “No one else in the world like you.”
Wyatt dragged his nose along Raph’s skin. “Gods, I love you, Raph.”
“But tonight—you wanted to cry?” Raph asked, trailing his wrist down Wyatt’s back, all the way to his ass.
“Yeah. It feels good to just... let go.” Wyatt buried his face in Raph’s neck, the silvery scars of his bonding marks faint against his skin. “After the drive-in, with Max... I needed a cry. I’m feeling better now.
