Kai rolled his eyes, heading through another door—one that Micah hadn’t noticed before. Kai shut the door, and a shower came on.
“That’s... it?” Micah asked, looking from the door to Spike, and back. After all that he’d seen of Spike and Kai’s relationship, the sex... wasn’t quite so intimate as Micah had expected.
Spike’s grin faded. He pressed his forehead against Micah’s shoulder, and quietly answered, “That’s it.”
Micah’s heart hurt for him. There’d been the little moment back in the noodle restaurant, when Spike had asked about alpha-alpha marriages. And now... Micah suddenly understood why Spike had been trying to get so close. Because Spike needed intimacy, but Kai couldn’t give it to him.
“How long have you...” Micah paused, unsure what he should say. Was it love?
“Since I was about sixteen,” Spike mumbled, wrapping his arms around Micah. “I don’t know how I can fall in love with two people at once, okay? Maybe I’m defective.”
“You’re not defective,” Micah murmured, brushing Spike’s hair away from his face.
Even though he was nineteen, Spike was so... human. He loved and laughed, and he... accepted Micah. Unconditionally.
And something in Micah’s heart said, Maybe I should give him a chance.
Spike sucked in a sharp breath. “My knot,” he said, his eyes growing wide. “Do you want it?”
Micah had felt it swell slowly inside his body. His cheeks warming, Micah nodded. “Please.”
Spike broke into a smile—half-happy, half-bittersweet. “Kai’s never let me knot inside him. So... this is my first time.”
Gods, this boy—this man. Micah stared at him, his heart squeezing tight. “And you’re spending it with me.”
“I am.” Spike grinned, pressing their foreheads together. “I’m just so happy that you’re letting me do this. It’s like a dream come true.”
Micah laughed dryly. “I’m not anyone’s dream.”
Spike snuffled. “You’re mine. You have been for years. Maybe you should remember that.”
This close, Micah realized that there were tiny gold flecks in Spike’s copper eyes, and faint freckles on his cheeks. There had been a freckled child in York’s friend group, a long time ago. Smallest of the lot. Had that been you?
“Maybe I should remember it,” Micah murmured, stroking his fingers through Spike’s blond hair.
Spike’s smile lit up his whole face.
His knot swelled fully inside Micah, a heavy, comforting weight. Spike rolled his hips experimentally. His knot pushed deeper, sending a jolt of pleasure through Micah’s body. Spike groaned. “Fuck.”
“I don’t think you’ll be able to pull out for a while,” Micah said softly, daring to trace his fingers down Spike’s toned back.
“All the better.” Spike grinned. He rolled his hips away, though, just to test the knot. Another jolt shot through them both; they groaned.
“I don’t think I can come again soon.” Micah bit down his moan. “But if I could... This would turn messy.”
“Is that a challenge?” Spike brightened.
Micah laughed. “Are you always this ready for sex?”
“I’m nineteen.” Spike grinned. “Of course I am.”
He leaned in and kissed Micah on the lips, soft and sweet. Micah melted against him, his heart skipping.
Then he yelped when Spike rolled them over, so Micah lay on top of him.
“I don’t want to be stuck hovering over you,” Spike said. His strong body lay beneath Micah, promising safety. Micah lay his cheek on Spike’s shoulder.
The bathroom door opened. Micah froze, looking over. He was naked. And Spike’s knot was buried inside him.
Kai stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, rivulets of water trickling down his chest and abs.
“He’s hot, isn’t he?” Spike growled.
Micah blushed. “What am I supposed to say?”
“Nothing.” Kai huffed, trudging back to the desk. He glanced back at them, though, seeking out where Spike had joined with Micah. A light flush crept up the back of his neck.
“Look, Kai’s blushing,” Spike whispered loudly.
“I’m not,” Kai muttered. And his flush deepened.
“Kai wants in on this,” Spike said. “Are you feeling lonely, Kai? Do you need an omega, too? I’ll share mine. Micah likes my knot.”
“I don’t need an omega,” Kai said, but he didn’t look so certain now. Spike’s smile grew.
Micah stared at Spike. “You’d... share me?”
Spike paused. “Would you rather I not?”
Micah shook his head hurriedly. “No, no—I just meant... it’s a strange thought, is all. I’ve... never been shared.”
“All my life—well, ever since our parents married—I’ve been sharing my things with Kai,” Spike said slowly. “And trust me, we didn’t want to, at first. But then my bowl broke and I didn’t have anything to eat cereal out of, so Kai shared his with me. Kai’s pencil broke, so I shared mine with him.
“Our mom was the only one working; money was tight. We’d shared clothes and underwear and shoes. Sometimes we’d exchange a sock so we wore matching mismatched pairs. But anyway, even now... this dorm room’s paid for by Kai’s scholarship. The textbooks, too. We saved up enough to buy a car between us. But there’s nothing I own that’s solely mine.”
“Except the basketball jerseys, but only because that’s numbered,” Kai said wryly. “We have our own numbers.”
“And sex partners. I’ve never had any of Kai’s. Wasn’t interested.” Spike paused, looking uncertainly at Micah. “So... I’m basically broke. I took on a new job to pay for the baby. I’m young and poor, and I’m not even as mature as Kai is. So seeing you is a dream, Micah, but I don’t know how to keep you.”
Spike looked away then, a deep flush creeping up his throat.
Micah glanced at Kai, who was watching them intently. Then he looked back at Spike—Spike, who had kissed all his scars, who had held him, who had loved him, even before Micah knew he existed. Spike was... kind of adorable.
Micah wet his lips, suddenly nervous. “I can’t promise anything,” he began. “Seeing you is a risk to me—” Spike’s shoulders sagged “—but I won’t say no to... to more of this.”
He glanced down at their joined bodies, his come smeared between his chest and Spike’s, Spike’s knot still buried inside him.
“And if you’d like to share me...” Micah glanced at Kai, blushing. “You’re
