“Yours,” Valen said. That was more of the truth than he’d ever admitted.
Harris sucked in a breath, surprise darting through his eyes. He squeezed Valen’s ass. Then he pulled away and turned toward Sam, raising his eyebrows.
So yeah, this conversation wasn’t over. Valen would finish it another day.
“Everything all right?” Harris asked, touching Sam’s shoulder.
“As fine as I can make it,” Sam said, sighing. He met Harris’ eyes, then Valen’s, his gaze uncertain. Valen’s stomach flipped. No avoiding it—he wasn’t over Sam, either. He wanted both these men in his life, in his bed.
“I’ll take that from you,” Harris said, setting the test kit on a side table.
Watching Harris, a surge of affection rolled through Valen’s chest. He’d seen Harris on the job, seen Harris interact with all sorts of different people. But Harris with Sam? It felt as though Harris was fumbling, like he was afraid of dealing with an omega of his own.
Like he was afraid that if he saw too much of Sam, he’d fall in love, too.
Valen froze, his thoughts racing. Harris and Sam were perfect for each other. Harris needed someone other than Valen to care for. He needed someone like Sam, who would appreciate his strength and wisdom. And Sam needed an alpha, needed someone who wouldn’t fuck up as badly as Valen had.
All they needed was to spend time with each other, see how good they could be. If they ended up not needing Valen, well. At least both Harris and Sam would be happy.
His heart pounding, Valen stepped closer, wondering how he’d entangle his two favorite people in the world.
9
Sam
Sam stared at the narrow pink kit on the table, holding his breath. I’m pregnant.
He recognized the honey scent on himself, his sensitivity to smells and light. He’d experienced it all before, a long time ago. Shouldn’t have missed the signs this time around.
Sam thought about the warm, toothless smile of a baby, the weight of a small child against his chest. His throat tightened.
He’d always wanted a baby, back when he’d been with Valen the first time. He’d grown up with his brothers, played hide-and-seek with them. Then he’d helped raise Wyatt’s daughter, and Hazel had smiled at him, all innocent.
To have a baby in his belly now, Valen’s baby... It was a second chance at having his own child.
But what if Valen and Harris thought he’d seduced them on purpose? Gotten pregnant with their child, so he could ask for child support? His breath stuttered.
He looked up, backing away, afraid of their judgment. “I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Harris was watching him carefully. Valen frowned. “It’s not just your fault,” Valen said. “Should’ve been mine, too. I should’ve used a condom.”
The fact still remained that Sam had told them he was on BC.
He looked up at Harris, expecting Harris to turn him away, call his bluff. Instead, Harris bowed his head. “I’m sorry about this,” Harris said. “Valen and I should’ve taken better precautions.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, too,” Valen said, coming to stand beside Sam. He caught Sam’s hand, pressing his nose into Sam’s hair. “If there’s anything I can do right now...”
Nothing they could do, except wait. Sam stared at the flat expanse of his belly, hidden beneath his knitted sweater. How had he gotten pregnant? He’d been taking the BC pills every day—or had he been taking the heat suppressants instead of the BC pills? Or had he popped the occasional multi-vit instead? Had he done a double dose of something?
He couldn’t remember. Wasn’t like he’d really needed BC before this, when he’d been too busy working to hook up with anyone.
“I thought I was on BC,” Sam mumbled, curling his fingers tight around Valen’s hand. His memories were so slippery right now, blurring together, fading when he tried to examine them.
Kind of terrifying, when you couldn’t remember what you’d done to yourself.
He felt sick, suddenly. Afraid, when he was such a liability to everyone around him. First the miscarriage, then the pregnancy...
Valen slipped his arms around Sam, holding him tight. “It’ll be fine,” Valen whispered. “Big H and I are here.”
Sam leaned into Valen’s chest, his heart thudding.
“You smell great,” Valen said.
“I smell like sweat.”
He still wasn’t sure how to behave in front of Valen and Harris—they’d hired him to teach them how to cook, and instead, he was standing in their home, waiting on a pregnancy test.
In the truck, Valen had found out about the miscarriage. He’d kissed Sam, and Sam had been caught by surprise—he hadn’t thought Valen would react with tenderness. Then Valen had pleasured him, and it had been intense, that quiet moment with his alpha.
It had felt like things were all right again.
Even if Valen hadn’t loved him enough to commit, even if Sam had left... All of this felt right.
Valen’s scent lingered on Sam’s skin, the spicy sandalwood in his nose, on his clothes. It felt familiar. Safe. Sam leaned into Valen, too aware that it had only been a week since they’d met.
Maybe this was happening too quickly.
“Big H and I have your back,” Valen said, nuzzling Sam’s ear. “I promise I’m not leaving you this time.”
Sam’s pulse stuttered. “Thank you,” he mumbled, squirming under Harris’ stare. There was Valen’s relationship with Harris, too. With each moment he spent with Valen, it felt as though Sam was pulling Valen away from Harris. “I’m intruding on you guys.”
“You’re very welcome to Valen,” Harris rumbled, closing the distance between them. He slipped his arm around Sam’s shoulder and squeezed. “Feel free to repeat what you did at the store.”
Sam blushed. Harris had seen that. “I—I should have asked first. I’m sorry.”
Valen snorted, at the same time Harris said, “Valen and I have discussed it—you’re welcome to see him as a partner, if you’d like.”
They were waiting on a pregnancy test, and Harris was talking about sharing lovers. Sam stared.
“And Harris, too,” Valen said, looking pointedly at his lover. “If you’d like to date Harris or fuck him, or anything in
