“Tell me if she says anything else like that, okay?” Eric said. “I want to know.”
Olivier shrugged half-heartedly. “I guess. I mean, I don’t visit the family much these days.”
“What about Dad? Or Cole and Aaron, at least.”
“They haven’t really contacted me, so I don’t know.” Olivier winced.
Eric turned them onto the road, wondering when Olivier last felt like he had a family to lean on for support. “Look, I don’t care if you’ve fucked a thousand people, okay? You’re still my brother. You’re still Ollie to me. If you need anything, I’ll help.”
Olivier managed a weak smile. “That’s kind of you.”
“I also want you in my bed, so there’s that.”
“So you’re using me for sex?”
“Well, no. I want to make you feel good, too.” Eric brought Olivier’s hand to his mouth, kissing his knuckles. It felt weird, thinking about Olivier with all those other people. Thinking about those hands on his omega, thinking about those cocks Olivier had taken.
Olivier was his.
Eric dragged his teeth over the scent gland at Olivier’s wrist. Easier to push all those faceless alphas into the past. “How many people have you slept with lately? This year?”
Olivier pulled his hand away, his carnation scent lingering on Eric’s lips. “Well, it’s January, so... um. One.”
Eric looked sharply at him. Olivier met his eyes. Then he seemed to realize he’d fucked up.
“No! No, I mean, two.”
Eric growled. “One or two, Ollie?”
Because if it was one... then that baby in Olivier’s belly... was Eric’s.
Olivier seemed to have the same thought. He curled his arm around his abdomen, looking pointedly out the window.
“Whose is it?” Eric murmured.
“Does it matter?” Olivier shrank away. “You shouldn’t care whose baby it is. It’s mine.”
But if it was Eric’s and not someone else’s... Eric liked that thought. He liked knowing that he’d claimed Olivier, inside and out.
“I’d rather it be mine,” Eric said. “‘Cuz I want you to be my omega.”
Olivier frowned, confused. “But you don’t love me.”
Well, Eric didn’t. At least, not yet.
Once upon a time, he’d loved Ollie. Then things had fallen apart and Eric had been furious. He’d shoved all those emotions in a cage, locked them up. So maybe he’d find that cage and maybe he would unlock it, or maybe he’d discover new things he’d love about his omega.
Eric shouldn’t—they were stepbrothers. And yet, he wanted Ollie in his bed, he wanted to hold Ollie, protect him. Earlier, when Levi had walked in on them... It had given Eric great pleasure to claim Ollie as his.
That was also because he was horny. Right?
“I don’t know,” Eric said. “I’m confused. But I want to fuck you. I want you to smell like me, and I can’t explain why I need you to be mine. Maybe it’s because I’ve felt it in the past.”
Olivier looked at his hands. In a small voice, he said, “Okay.”
They fell silent, driving through the streets of Meadowfall. The streetlamps cast orange puddles of light on the roads, and the stores were lit up, warm light shining through their windows.
Minutes later, they pulled into Olivier’s parking lot, with more lit windows dotting the apartment building.
“You don’t have to be my alpha,” Olivier said quietly. “I mean, I’ve been getting along okay. Besides, you had another omega—”
“It wasn’t the same with Alice.”
Olivier glanced over, surprise flashing through his eyes.
“She was a close friend. But she wasn’t... Things with her weren’t how I expected a bond to be.” Eric chuckled lowly, turning into a parking spot. It hurt again, talking about Alice. “I know what love is. I’ve felt it before, and it wasn’t exactly that with her.”
Olivier gulped. “Then... when you last felt it...”
“It was you, Ollie.” Eric cut the engine, tipping his head back against the seat. “I told you. I loved you.”
Olivier froze. And the look in his eyes—yearning, regret.
Eric felt raw, exposing that part of himself to Olivier. No one had seen it. He’d mentioned it to Alice, but not the true depth of his feelings.
“All that time growing up, I thought you were gonna be my omega, you know? I’d felt so sure that day, when I presented... I thought you were gonna accept me.”
Olivier had been reaching out. But then he flinched, bowing his head. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “If I had any faith that things could work out... I would’ve accepted you.”
“So... just for tonight, let’s believe things can work out,” Eric said, glancing at him. “If that baby’s mine, I’ll take full responsibility for it.”
Olivier bit his lip, looking away. So it might be Eric’s, and the growing suspicion in him said, Yes, that’s my child.
Eric jogged around the car hood, pulling open the passenger door before Olivier could.
Olivier cracked a smile. “Is that how you treat your omega?”
“It’s how you should be treated,” Eric said, warmth sparking in his chest. Olivier’s smile made him want to smile, too.
When Olivier stepped out, Eric tangled their fingers together. Then he led the way to the elevator lobby, brushing his thumb across the back of Olivier’s hand.
“This is just—just to see the apartment, right?” Olivier asked, a blush fanning across his cheeks. “To... make sure there’s enough space for you and your daughter. If you’re really moving in.”
Yeah, there was that. But Eric hadn’t seen Olivier’s bed, and that was more important right now. “I need to inspect your bedroom, too.”
Olivier flushed darkly. “Does that... include my closet?”
“What’s in your closet?”
“Just—just clothes.”
“Somehow, it feels like you’re lying again, Ollie.”
Eric followed him into the elevator. He waited until the elevator swept them up through the building, before crowding in close, nuzzling Olivier’s temple. Olivier smelled like carnation and honey, like someone Eric wanted in his bed. “Don’t lie to me, Ollie. What’s in your closet?”
Olivier sucked in a slow breath, shivering. “I have some—some underwear.”
“Nice ones?”
Olivier nodded.
Maybe at some point, Eric would see him in those. “If you’re offering to model them... I’d be up for it.”
“‘Up’, huh?” Olivier smiled wider now, a little more relaxed.
“Up and ready, yeah,” Eric
