But there was a low, roaring need in his gut that wanted Sam. Valen had Harris. If he wanted Sam too, then that made him a greedy bastard, didn’t it?
He leaned in, skimming his nose against Sam’s cheek. Sam’s breath hitched.
“I really did miss you,” Valen whispered, his heart thumping. Didn’t know what would happen if he kissed Sam. He wanted to. Wanted to breathe Sam in, hold him, taste him.
Mine, something in his chest murmured.
“Missed you too,” Sam whispered. Valen’s heart skipped.
He touched Sam’s thigh, clicked off Sam’s seatbelt. Then he ran his knuckles across Sam’s belly. It shouldn’t matter, but Valen blurted anyway, “You said you miscarried.”
Sam’s breath stuttered. “I—I did.”
“Harris said you wanted a baby.”
Sam’s eyelids fluttered shut. He sighed, leaning forward like he wanted Valen to touch him, only he couldn’t bring himself to say it. “If—If I said I did?”
“Whose baby did you miscarry?”
An audible gulp. Sam’s fingers curled into the seat. “It’s in the past, Valen.”
“Is it someone I know?”
Then there was a long pause, and Valen’s heart thundered. What was so bad about the answer, that Sam couldn’t say it?
“It was yours,” Sam whispered, his voice barely audible. “I miscarried after I left.”
It felt like a punch to the gut.
8
Valen
“I... My baby?” Valen froze, trying to wrap his mind around it. When Sam had left, he’d looked no different, his belly flat, his limbs slender. But it explained why Sam had been crying in the car with Harris, how Harris could’ve comforted him in a way Valen couldn’t. Both of them had lost a baby.
Eleven years ago, Valen had knocked his omega up. And he’d put another baby inside Sam now, a baby that Sam wanted.
Valen’s throat tightened. He cupped Sam’s face in his hands, bringing him close. “You wanted my baby?”
Sam nodded, his throat working.
It wasn’t like Valen wanted a baby himself, or knew what to do with it. But Sam had wanted, and Valen had told Sam he couldn’t marry him, not knowing Sam carried his child.
“Fuck, I’ve been a bastard,” Valen said, horrified at himself. How many years had Sam been alone? “I can’t—can’t believe I let you go.”
Sam chuckled lowly, his eyes dark with loss. “It’s in the past, Valen. I should’ve told you. It was my fault, too.”
“I should’ve been better for you,” Valen whispered, nuzzling Sam’s cheek. He had an omega, and he’d gone and fucked up. “Tell me how I can make it up to you.”
Sam huffed, his breath warm. “I don’t know. Things are different now. You have Harris—”
“I want you, too,” Valen said. “I want you to be mine again.”
Sam stared at him, a soft whine slipping from his throat. He cared about Valen—Valen could see that much. His chest squeezed.
“Will you let me be your alpha?” Valen pressed his lips to Sam’s jaw. “Please.”
He remembered Sam’s tears, and he didn’t know if he could make up for how much he’d hurt Sam. But Sam hovered on an answer now, and it wasn’t No.
Sam met his eyes. Valen swallowed, remembering the first time they’d ever kissed, back in Sam’s bedroom. Sam’s hair had been a mess, his eyes wide and sparkling. They’d made love, and Sam had been sprawled on the sheets, so beautiful beneath Valen.
Maybe Sam was remembering a different thing, like how Valen had tried to bake him a birthday cake and failed, or the time Valen had walked him home, both of them giggling and drunk.
“You were so innocent back then,” Sam murmured, a bittersweet smile on his lips.
“I made so many mistakes,” Valen said. “Remember the cake that burned? I put whipped cream on it. We ended up taking a chisel to the pan.”
“Remember the dicks you drew on my biology textbook?” Sam chuckled. “My mom opened it.”
“Gods.” Valen’s cheeks prickled. Yeah, he remembered that, too. “I couldn’t look her in the eye for weeks.”
Sam fell silent, his gaze soft, a smile lingering on his lips.
“So...” Valen gulped. Breathed in Sam’s sweet scent, his insides taut. He needed more of his omega, but he was afraid to reach out.
“I guess you couldn’t stay away.” Sam’s smile grew, and Valen’s throat went dry. He wanted to breathe Sam in, taste him again.
“Can I... please?” he murmured, dragging his mouth along Sam’s jaw, pausing at the corner of his lips. Valen held his breath. If Sam said yes, if Sam wanted him...
“Yeah,” Sam whispered, turning so their mouths brushed. “I missed you.”
Something unfurled in Valen’s chest. He kissed Sam hard, dragging his lips across Sam’s, pulling Sam against himself. Sam groaned, parting his lips, kissing back.
It felt like coming home, like finding something he’d lost, when he slipped into Sam’s mouth, tasting dahlia and musk. Sam’s tongue tangled with his, and Sam curled his fingers into Valen’s shirt, his body arching. Valen couldn’t get enough of him. Not by kissing him, not by tasting him.
He hauled Sam closer, pinned Sam flat against the bench seat. Kissed down his jaw, sucking on delicate skin, dragging his hands down Sam’s chest. Beneath him, Sam squirmed, his legs parting, musk rolling from his skin.
“What—What about Harris?” Sam gasped, arching when Valen shoved Sam’s sweater up.
“He can join in when he gets back,” Valen growled.
He nibbled down Sam’s jaw, sucked on his earlobe. Sam gasped, tugging at Valen’s belt, his fingers scrabbling between Valen’s legs.
Valen pulled Sam’s hands away. Kissed down Sam’s chest, yanking his sweater higher to reveal his tight, pink nipples. Then Valen kissed them, took one into his mouth and sucked, and Sam’s hips jerked, a hard line in his pants.
Pressed against his omega like this, on the seat of his truck, it almost felt like a secret. Except Valen didn’t care. He only wanted his fill of Sam, wanted to hear Sam’s cries in his ears, wanted to taste Sam on his tongue.
“Missed you,” he rasped, dragging his teeth over Sam’s nipple. Sam threw his head back, writhing under him.
“Valen,” Sam
