Raph froze, his thoughts whirling, his heart pattering too fast. “Wy?”
Wyatt didn’t move. He pressed his face into the mattress, his breathing a mix of gasps and sniffles.
“Gods, I’m so sorry, Wy.” Raph slid out of him, gathered Wyatt into his arms. Then he hefted Wyatt further up the bed, turning him around so Wyatt faced him, his eyes red, his nose blotchy. Raph’s chest squeezed. “Do you want my knot?”
Wyatt nodded, his throat working. Raph caught him under one knee, spread his legs open. Then he slipped back into Wyatt’s warmth, slowing when his growing knot caught against Wyatt’s entrance. “Gonna be a stretch,” he said.
“I know.” Wyatt moaned when Raph pushed slowly inside, spreading him open, until his knot sat firmly in Wyatt’s body, swelling. Raph’s breath rushed out of him—it always felt intimate, locked with Wyatt like this.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked, brushing Wyatt’s hair from his face. With their bodies connected, he lay down gingerly beside his omega, wiping the smeared tears off his cheeks. “Gods, I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Wyatt nodded. Raph leaned in, pressing kisses to his forehead, his cheeks, his nose.
“You didn’t really believe what I said, did you?”
Wyatt’s gaze skittered away. And Raph’s heart sank.
“Damn it, Wyatt.” Raph pressed him down against the bed, bracing one hand by Wyatt’s shoulder. “I love you, okay? Nothing will change that.”
Wyatt sucked in a deep breath, his eyelids fluttering shut. His throat worked. “It... it was so easy to believe you, Raph. I don’t... don’t deserve you. I just...”
His voice cracked, and Raph leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Don’t make me do that again,” Raph whispered, winding his fingers into Wyatt’s hair, cradling his head. He’d almost fucking cried, all because Wyatt was crying. “Gods, that was difficult. I didn’t mean any of it.”
“Oh.” Wyatt swallowed, his eyes disbelieving, the corners of his mouth turned down.
Raph kissed his lips, then along his jaw. “What do I have to do to make you believe?”
When Wyatt didn’t answer, Raph dropped kisses all over Wyatt’s face, lacing their fingers together. Then he kissed Wyatt’s chest, dragged his hands over Wyatt’s skin, holding him carefully. “You’re my omega, Wy. How do I make you believe that?”
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
