“Later,” Eric murmured, pressing his nose against Ollie’s neck. “Get you all slick and ready for me.”
Olivier’s blood swooped south. “You shouldn’t be saying that here.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t.” Eric smiled, caressing Olivier’s waist. “But you know I will, right?”
Olivier gulped. He was looking forward to that. “Yeah.”
Eric leaned back, giving Jenn his finger to play with. “But you’re looking better now. What happened in the store? I walk off with Jenn, and when I get back, you look like someone had hit you.”
“I was just worrying. It’s fine.”
“What were you worried about?”
Olivier hesitated.
“Tell me,” Eric murmured, stroking Ollie’s back. His gaze was patient, interested, and Olivier couldn’t resist him.
“I was... wondering about you moving in,” Ollie mumbled. “And—and caring for Jenn. I don’t know how to deal with babies, Eric. What if I hurt her? What if I fuck up and something goes wrong?”
“Shh. You’ll be fine.” Eric pulled Olivier against his chest, rubbing his back. “I trust you.”
That was more than Olivier would give himself credit for. “I guess.”
“You’ve always been careful with me,” Eric murmured. “So I know Jenn will be fine with you, too.”
Olivier nodded, his stomach queasy. Maybe it was just his worry manifesting as nausea.
“Even so, I’m not expecting you to be responsible for her,” Eric said. “Even if Jenn and I move in... I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you, okay? You’re still your own person. Jenn’s my responsibility.”
Olivier scuffed his shoes on the sidewalk. “I understand.”
Eric slid his arm back around Olivier’s waist, rubbing the side of his ass. “So, about me moving in... What do you think?”
Olivier’s pulse raced. It seemed like a huge commitment. “I don’t know. Are you sure?”
Eric’s gaze was dark and simmering. “I’m not certain about you, but where I come from, alphas live in the beds of their omegas. We specialize in the cleaning of between-leg crevices.”
Olivier stared. Then Eric smirked, and Olivier realized that had been a joke. A dirty one. “Gods, Eric!”
“Am I moving in, or not?”
“You tell me!”
But Olivier was more than ready to have Eric in his bed, to have Eric next to him as he woke every morning. It would be a dream come true.
“Joke aside,” Eric said, his humor fading away. “Are you okay with Jenn, or do you need more time?”
Olivier looked at the baby, who was babbling at something over Eric’s shoulder. “I guess I’m okay with her. Mostly.”
But as innocent as she was, Jenn was a baby that Eric had created with another omega. Sooner or later, Eric would move on. Or he would realize that he’d loved Alice more than he thought he did. And then Eric wouldn’t need Olivier anymore.
Ollie’s stomach squeezed nauseatingly. He rubbed his middle, swallowing his discomfort.
Eric frowned. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just... queasy.” Olivier gulped, wondering if he’d eaten something wrong for breakfast.
Eric studied him for a while longer. “Dad heard about us from Mrs. Sullivan. At the pharmacy.”
Olivier stopped breathing. “He what?”
Eric shrugged. “He didn’t say much. Just knows you were there for a morning-after pill. But he recognized your scent on me.”
Dad found out? Olivier’s stomach twisted. “Oh, gods.”
“I told him I was seeing someone with your scent.”
And despite knowing that Eric did it with the best intentions, something possessive growled in Olivier’s gut.
It must’ve shown on his face, because Eric caught Ollie by his nape, leaning in to brush a soft kiss to his cheek. “I’ll tell him differently if you want,” Eric murmured. “But I don’t want to risk things unless I know we’re on the same page.”
It wasn’t even his words that made Ollie’s heart flutter, but the kiss.
Eric had kissed him in public. Olivier blushed.
“Eric!” someone called from behind them. That sounded like...
“Cole,” Eric said, releasing Ollie ever so smoothly. “What’re you doing here?”
Cole stopped in front of them, a scarf around his neck. He was the same height as Eric, with broad shoulders, and he looked older than Olivier remembered. The last time Ollie had spent much time at all with his other stepbrothers, Cole had been in his teens.
Jenn reached out for Cole. She was smiling, happy to see him, and part of Olivier said, This is why I don’t belong.
Cole glanced at Olivier, surprise flashing in his eyes. “Olivier? I didn’t expect to see you around. You weren’t at Christmas dinner.”
Olivier looked at his feet. “I was, um, I was held up by work.”
The truth was that he’d been too embarrassed to show up for dinner. In the week prior, he’d bumped into Zan at the Christmas market. Then Eric’s mom had shown up, and she’d overheard Zan asking Ollie, Twenty bucks for a booty call. You up for it?
Eric’s mom had scowled so hard, it looked like her face would stay permanently twisted. And Olivier had agreed, touch-starved as he was.
After, he’d regretted following Zan to his apartment. The place had stunk, and Zan’s breath had smelled like stale booze. His touch had felt repulsive. The twenty dollars hadn’t been worth it.
But Ollie knew Eric’s mom would remind him of it if he showed up for Christmas dinner. She’d say, Santa favors only the good children, and she would glance at Olivier like he was something stuck beneath her shoe.
So no, Ollie had given his dad a lame excuse and skipped that dinner.
Eric scrutinized Olivier; it was obvious that he’d caught the lie. “I’ve never seen Ollie at Christmas dinners,” Eric said slowly. “Been home a couple times.”
“Yeah, it’s a miracle that you even found him,” Cole said, studying Olivier. “You doing okay, Ollie?”
Then Cole’s nostrils flared, his forehead furrowing. “Wait a minute—that scent. I thought it smelled familiar.”
Eric tensed.
“What scent?” Ollie winced. Had Cole smelled the honey of his pregnancy? “Actually, I should return to my shop. It’s almost Levi’s lunchtime.”
Cole glanced at Olivier, then back at Eric.
