“You’re so damn beautiful,” Raph whispered.
“I said that to you when I was eighteen.”
“Never thought I could say it back. But I’ve always liked how you look.” Raph kissed his soapy forehead. “But I’m gonna say it all the time now.”
“I’m not beautiful.”
Raph paused, his hands drifting to a stop along Wyatt’s jaw. “I don’t care what Grandma said, okay? And you shouldn’t care what that bastard said, either.”
But Wyatt remembered You should be happy that you’re with me. No one else would tolerate an omega like you. And he was still twisted, wasn’t he, having a baby with his stepbrother. No matter how often he tried to think Max was wrong, Max’s words always came back to haunt him, his cruel eyes glinting in Wyatt’s mind, his rough hands a phantom touch on Wyatt’s skin.
“Wy, no. Stop that.” Raph cradled his cheeks, his breath falling on Wyatt’s lips. Then his mouth pressed against Wyatt’s, insistent, his teeth nipping. “He’s not your damn alpha.”
“But I...” They still risked Hazel catching the public’s disgrace. She was too young for that. And Dad’s reputation, too. There were so many other people involved in this, not just the two of them. “If this gets out... I don’t want Dad to be embarrassed about us.”
Raph pressed their foreheads together, his knees on either side of Wyatt’s hips, his hands trailing down Wyatt’s neck. “We’ll have to talk to them at some point. Him and Mom.”
Through the years, Mom had yelled at them several times, Don’t get your brother into trouble! Play nice, you guys. You’re siblings now. She had made sure to give them presents of equal value, and if Wyatt was in the wrong, he wouldn’t get a lenient punishment just because he was her biological son.
Their parents had put so much emphasis on them being family, and family... did not have sex with each other.
Wyatt shuddered. The news would get out, somehow. Grandma would hear. He couldn’t bear to imagine his parents’ faces, especially when Grandma evicted them. She owned the Alpha Associates Bank. She could fire Raph any time.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Wyatt murmured. “I wish... I don’t know. That none of this happened.”
“Even me?”
He couldn’t regret Raph, or Hazel. “No, not you.”
And Raph tilted his head, kissing Wyatt full on the lips. “Then remember I’m your alpha. We’re bonded now.”
His fingers slipped down to the crook of Wyatt’s neck, where the two scars sat over the scent gland, each equally incriminating.
“I’m your alpha,” Raph murmured, “and I will protect you. Hazel, too, and our baby.”
Raph’s soapy hand fell lower, past Wyatt’s chest, to his belly. Then he brushed his knuckles over where the baby was, and kissed Wyatt on the lips. Wyatt’s heart staggered. Raph accepted all of them, wanted them to be his family.
“Gods, I think I love you,” Wyatt whispered, his chest tight. “I don’t... don’t know what kind of love this is.”
“Does it matter?” Raph tipped Wyatt’s head back, kissed him hard, his tongue slipping into Wyatt’s mouth.
Wyatt groaned, his fingers scrabbling along Raph’s drenched thighs. He hadn’t the strength to do anything, but the kiss left him weak-limbed, even with the trace of bitter soap in his mouth.
“I fucking love you,” Raph whispered, scooping Wyatt up against himself, his thick thighs pressed against Wyatt’s hips, his breath falling on Wyatt’s mouth. Then he kissed Wyatt again, his tongue tangling with Wyatt’s, a hot, slick presence that Wyatt welcomed. He pulled Raph closer to himself, slipped into Raph’s mouth, and Raph groaned, parting his lips wider, letting Wyatt claim him.
The pregnancy had left him little energy, but Wyatt hung on, kissed Raph with everything he had. Because Raph was important to him. Had always been. And Raph needed to know that.
He lost track of how long they kissed. When they pulled away, the suds had dried from their skin, and maybe the air behind the shower curtain was warmer than before, more humid. Raph leaned back, his lips glistening, his eyes dark.
“You’re really my omega, then?” he whispered. “You accept me as your alpha?”
“We’re bonded anyway,” Wyatt said. “The mark proves it.”
“I’m asking if you want me as your alpha, Wy. Not what the bonding mark says.”
Wyatt’s throat tightened. Raph was handsome, smart, and so very kind. “You could’ve had anyone else.”
“I want you,” Raph whispered, his hands cradling Wyatt’s cheeks. “I want to know if you feel the same way.”
And something unfurled in Wyatt’s chest, light and freeing. “Yes,” he murmured. “I want to be your omega.”
Raph pressed a soft kiss to his lips, his shoulders relaxing. “Thank you.”
“I—I don’t understand. Why would you thank me?”
“Because you’re giving me a chance to prove myself,” Raph said, hugging Wyatt to his damp, broad chest. “I won’t fail you this time.”
“You’ve never failed me.”
Raph glanced at him, his eyes solemn, his lips a thin line. “If I’d never failed you, then you’d never have been hurt.”
And Wyatt remembered Grandma, and his ex. Raph blamed himself for them. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry,” Raph said, pulling him so close there was no air between them.
“Those aren’t your responsibilities,” Wyatt said. “Don’t blame yourself for it.”
“I don’t want you to blame yourself.”
You care that much about me? When I don’t believe I deserve you? Wyatt leaned into him, chuckling. “Sure.”
But his worries didn’t seem so dire now. If Raph wanted to stand by him, then Wyatt would do the best he could, too. Be the best omega that Raph deserved.
“C’mon, your fingers are getting wrinkled.” Raph caught Wyatt’s wrist, kissing his fingertips. “We’re gonna get you in bed, and get you some sleep.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Wyatt said.
Raph rolled his eyes. But he smiled, and as the shower came on again, Wyatt relaxed, knowing he’d found the alpha he’d needed all his life.
14
Raph
The phone buzzed on the kitchen table, a text message icon popping up on the screen. Raph sat down with his coffee and tapped on it.
From: Alpha Associates Bank
Raphael Fleming, your next
