And now Daniel believed it. This felt real. Grounding. He’d just marked Heath, and Heath was about to fuck him. His hands shaking with anticipation, Daniel reached down to spread himself.
“Yours,” he panted.
Heath groaned, fitting his thick, blunt tip against Daniel’s hole, rubbing over it to smear himself with slick. But it would take too long to get him all lubed up like that.
Daniel spat on his palm, reaching down to smear his spit down Heath’s length. “I don’t want to wait,” he breathed.
Heath’s expression turned ravenous. He rolled his hips so his tip sank into Daniel’s hole, opening him. Then he thrust the full length of his cock into Daniel, and Daniel threw his head back, taking every inch of his alpha, his own cock throbbing.
Heath felt good inside him. Better now than before, somehow.
“Mine,” Heath growled, kissing Daniel on the lips. Daniel moaned into his mouth, panting when Heath fucked good and hard into him, grinding right against his prostate. His body hummed; Daniel clutched at him, knowing little else but Heath, his alpha claiming him inside, Heath’s cock a thick and heady presence.
“Heath,” Daniel moaned, shuddering when Heath fitted the last inch inside, his hips pressed firm against Daniel’s, his body strong around him, a safe, protective cage.
“I love you,” Heath whispered, snapping his hips up, filling Daniel with himself.
Daniel cried out against his lips. “Love you.”
Heath smiled, and fucked harder into him. Daniel sobbed with pleasure.
Over and over, Heath massaged Daniel with his cock, pumping into him, stroking Daniel’s cock, squeezing it so Daniel writhed beneath him, dripping shamelessly onto himself.
Heath pressed his palm against Daniel’s baby bump. Then he kissed Daniel, swallowing all of Daniel’s moans as he brought Daniel higher and higher, almost bending Daniel in half with how deep he was plunging inside. Pleasure throbbed down Daniel’s nerves.
Daniel took all of his alpha, his climax swelling through him like a force of nature. “Heath, I—I can’t—”
“I want to hear it,” Heath growled, thrusting harder, his cock swelling inside Daniel. “Gonna fill you up with come. And then my knot.”
Gods, Daniel wanted his knot. The thought sent him over the edge; pleasure crashed through him, and he came and came, spurting all over himself, his spine arching with the intensity of his climax.
Heath roared, sinking deep into Daniel. He pulsed, filling Daniel with his come, his kiss turning bruisingly hard. Daniel dragged him closer, pressing sloppy kisses all over Heath’s face.
It took a while for them to catch their breaths. Daniel held on to Heath, his mind fogged over with the afterglow, his body limp and sated.
“Want my knot?” Heath rumbled, dragging his lips down Daniel’s jaw.
“Yes, please.” Daniel pushed his hips up at Heath, and Heath rolled them over, so Daniel lay sprawled on top of him instead.
Like it had before, Heath’s knot swelled inside Daniel, stretching him, locking them together. Daniel moaned.
“Good?” Heath asked.
“Very.”
Daniel buried his face in Heath’s shoulder, letting himself relax. The last time this had happened... they’d been two strangers, Heath holding Daniel anyway, knotting inside him, providing warmth and comfort.
So much had happened since then. And Daniel didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want to leave again.
“Move in with me,” Heath murmured, rubbing his wrists down Daniel’s back. “And marry me.”
Daniel spluttered. “That’s—That’s too soon to be asking, isn’t it?”
But Heath only smiled warmly up at him, tightening his arms around Daniel. “I’m not leaving you. And unless you plan on leaving...”
“I’m not!” Daniel yelped, horrified that Heath would even think that.
Heath’s smile grew. “If you’re staying, I want to put a ring on you. I want you to wear all my markings. So the entire company will know you’re mine.”
Daniel blushed. That was... not unwelcome. He loved Heath’s employees, and he loved his workplace. He felt safe with Heath. He felt comfortable. Loved.
What they had now... it was so different from things with Tim. And Daniel was ever so grateful for finding Heath, for agreeing to follow Heath home that very first day.
“I guess I’ll marry you,” Daniel said with a grin.
“Are you regretting this?” Heath asked, his smile teasing.
“No regrets.” Daniel kissed him on the lips, soft and sweet. “You’re the best choice I’ve ever made.”
Heath smiled wider, pulling Daniel close. Then he stroked his palm over Daniel’s belly, too.
“I’m looking forward to a life with you,” Heath whispered. “And our baby. Things are gonna be perfect.”
It seemed like a lot to hope for, but with Heath, a perfect future didn’t seem so impossible, after all.
Epilogue One year later
“I put an order in for baby-proof gates,” Heath said, stepping into the kitchen.
Daniel turned at the stove, cheering up when he found his husband and their baby girl. “Good idea. I think your mom said you learned to crawl when you were six months old.”
Heath laughed. “Mom told you all the embarrassing things about me, didn’t she?”
He bounced Bella across the kitchen to Daniel, grinning when she squealed with laughter. Then he pulled Daniel into a big hug, and Daniel leaned into them both, glad to have his family around him again.
The pregnancy hadn’t been easy toward the later stages. Daniel’s ankles had swollen terribly, and Heath had to massage them thrice a day so he’d feel better.
Daniel’s labor had taken eighteen whole hours. Heath had sat with Daniel throughout, looking more anxious than Daniel had felt. The labor had still hurt, though, and Daniel had cursed at Heath up and down, until Heath blushed to his hairline.
Then Bella had been born, and she was the most beautiful person either of them had seen. She still was. But Heath was beautiful too, in his own way.
“What’s for dinner tonight?” Heath murmured, pressing a kiss to Daniel’s forehead.
“Me?” Daniel laughed, shivering when Heath’s eyes darkened. “I meant to say, steak and garlic mashed potatoes. Your favorite.”
“You make the best food,” Heath growled. “But don’t bother with dessert. I know what I’m having.”
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