Eric kissed him again. This time, the kiss was hot, hard, Eric’s tongue slipping possessively into Ollie’s mouth. Olivier’s body reacted viscerally to him, heat surging through his insides, getting him ready for his alpha.
“I’ll tell you if you’re no good,” Eric said into his mouth. “Don’t let him decide that for you.”
But there was still a chance that Eric thought... “Am—am I no good?”
“You’re the best.”
Eric broke the kiss, pressing their foreheads together, his eyes a blur of brown. He cradled Ollie’s cheek, his palm gentle, his body a solid, protective wall.
Ollie wanted to cry. Eric loved him. Eric really loved him, and he’d spent... years, decades, waiting for this moment. For Eric to love him back.
“Come home with me,” Eric murmured. “I don’t want to claim you right here.”
Olivier bit his lip. He wanted to tell Eric all of what Zan had done. So Eric could be sure he really loved Ollie. But they were in public, Jenn calmed down in Eric’s other arm. And Olivier still felt too raw, too broken to show Eric all of himself.
“What’s wrong?” Eric murmured, stroking Olivier’s back.
Ollie gulped. “It’s too good to be true. It’s just... It’s so hard to believe, Eric. I’ve... You’ve seen Zan. It’s been going on for a while. Nothing in my life goes right.”
Anger flashed in Eric’s gaze. He closed his eyes, breathing out. “I should’ve been there from the start. I’m sorry.”
Olivier shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”
Eric brushed his thumb across Olivier’s lips, his eyes dark, his touch so very gentle.
Ollie trembled. His heart felt close to bursting, and he probably looked like a mess right now. He reached up to swipe his tears away. Didn’t know how to tell Eric how thankful he was.
Eric caught his wrists, his eyes narrowing at Ollie’s abraded palms. “You’re bleeding. Let’s get you home and cleaned up.”
“I’m okay,” Ollie protested.
“Mine,” Eric growled. “That means I want your wounds clean so they can heal. All of them. Even the ones here.”
He rubbed his knuckles over Olivier’s heart, and Olivier bit his lip, fresh tears welling in his eyes. “You’re too good to me, Eric.”
Eric leaned in, his warmth soaking into Olivier’s skin. “You deserve everything good, Ollie. This is just the start of it.”
Olivier trembled, unsure about Eric’s words. After all the failures in his life... here was Eric, Eric offering him a safe place.
So Ollie breathed in his alpha’s scent, allowing Eric to hug him. Jenn patted his hair, a bright smile on her face.
“Awwr,” she said.
“Ol-lie,” Eric told her. “Uncle Ollie. Or... if you wanna be her dad...”
Olivier froze, staring wide-eyed at Eric. “H-Her dad? That’s... that’s too much, Eric. You don’t even know if I’ll be any good.”
But Eric nuzzled Ollie’s temple, kissing him there. “I’ve seen you with her, Ollie. I’ve heard you telling her your secrets. Hell, she got to know before I did!”
Eric growled, pressing his hand against Olivier’s belly, where their baby was. Olivier’s face burned. Eric knew. And Eric wasn’t mad at him for it.
“Sorry,” Olivier mumbled, looking away. “I should’ve told you sooner.”
Eric kissed his jaw. “It’s fine. I wanted to pull my hair out, but... maybe you can do the hair-pulling.”
Ollie choked on his laughter, blushing hard. “We should get home,” he mumbled, eyeing the cars weaving around Eric’s parked sedan. “We’re blocking the traffic.”
Eric smirked, hauling Olivier off the ground. Then he patted the dirt off Ollie’s ass, his palm warm and solid. Olivier’s face burned.
“We’re in public!”
“I’m just dusting you off,” Eric murmured. “And you’re my omega, so fuck what everyone else thinks.”
Just to be contrary, Eric squeezed Ollie’s ass, holding him there longer than was appropriate.
Olivier flushed. Eric’s smile widened. He slipped his fingers between Olivier’s legs, tapping lightly there. Each tap reverberated through Ollie’s body; Ollie’s blood swooped south.
“About time I marked you again,” Eric growled, nudging Ollie’s balls through his pants. “And... you probably need some punishment for lying to me.”
“Punishment?” Olivier held his breath.
Eric’s eyes darkened. He slapped Ollie lightly on the ass. “A good spanking or two,” he growled. “Before I spread you open and claim you for myself.”
Olivier’s throat went dry. He did deserve a spanking. But after, when Eric opened him up and slid inside... Ollie looked forward to that pleasure, to submitting to Eric, and giving himself to his alpha.
Eric loved him, and Ollie... Ollie couldn’t wait.
21
Olivier
It took forever for them to reach home.
“It was just fifteen minutes,” Eric growled, pressing Ollie up against the bathroom sink. His chest was solid against Ollie’s back, his voice rumbling into Ollie’s ears. “Half an hour if you count putting Jenn to bed.”
“Still too long.”
Olivier gulped when Eric reached around him. Eric turned on the faucet, waited until the water warmed, then held Ollie’s hands under the running water.
His scrapes stung. The blood had dried on the way home, and Ollie had washed his hands once.
“I want you taking better care of yourself,” Eric murmured, his breath hot on Ollie’s ear. “Soap and water on these.”
“I rinsed them with water,” Ollie protested.
“Not good enough. You can do that for Jen. So you can do it for yourself, too.” Eric kissed down Ollie’s neck, his lips soft. Then he lathered his hands, washing Ollie’s fingers and the raw, tender skin of his palms. Olivier’s heart pattered.
Looking at himself and Eric in the mirror... They kind of fitted together. Ollie was small, pale, and Eric was tall and broad-shouldered behind him, a sturdy alpha that Olivier still couldn’t believe was his. Eric loves me.
Eric nipped at his ear, his teeth sharp points on Ollie’s skin. “What’re you looking at?”
“You.”
Eric huffed. Then he rolled his hips, his cock a solid line in his pants. Olivier bit down a groan, grinding back against his alpha.
“Don’t tease,” he mumbled, his pants growing tight.
“Gonna have to,” Eric answered. “I want this cleaned up first.”
His arms warm around Ollie, Eric rinsed Ollie’s hands, then patted them dry with
