Being knotted always made him feel like he belonged.
Heath shifted behind him, his knot tugging inside Daniel, sending jolts of pleasure through his body. They groaned. After some fumbling, Heath finally laid down, pulling Daniel flush against his chest.
“You don’t have to do this,” Daniel mumbled, his eyelids growing heavy. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“This is nice.” Heath’s breath puffed into his hair. “No obligations. Just touch.”
It was nice. Daniel had forgotten how good it felt, just to be held like this. To pretend that he had an alpha who cared, and who would protect him from anything else.
Tomorrow, he would return to his lonely life. But for now, while the knot lasted... Daniel huddled against Heath, and savored his warmth.
2
Heath
The condom had split.
Heath stared at his empty bed the next morning, broken condom limp in his hand. Daniel was nowhere to be found. All that remained of him was his amaranth scent, a few strands of blond hair on the pillows, and a gentle dip in the mattress.
Heath had woken up with his arms empty. When he’d brushed his hand down the sheets, he’d found the condom near his hips.
Did Daniel know? Heath had looked around for a phone number, but he’d found nothing. There was nothing missing from his mansion, and the Porsche was still in the driveway.
Had Daniel... walked down the driveway by himself? And, what, climbed the spiked iron gate to get out?
Heath winced. That wasn’t how you treated a bed partner. They’d both fallen asleep last night, knotted together. His come had probably emptied inside Daniel. Daniel needed to know.
And Heath had no way of contacting him. He didn’t even know the guy’s last name.
Heath groaned, dragging his palm over his eyes. This was supposed to be a fling. No strings attached.
It sucked that Daniel was the one who would bear the burden of this accident, because he was someone Heath genuinely liked. He’d seemed so trusting, pinned beneath Heath.
Daniel didn’t seem like a bastard who would cheat at all.
Heath swallowed the past bitterness, dropping the condom into a trashcan. He found his phone and hit the speed dial.
“Mr. Sanderson?” Bert asked on the other end of the line.
“Go through the Meadowfall resident directory,” Heath said, his voice rough with sleep. “I’m looking for a Daniel. Age forty. I want the list by the end of the day.”
There was a pause. Heath could already imagine Bert’s reproachful frown. This isn’t Alpha Foods business, Bert would be tempted to say.
Well, fuck that. Bert was his secretary, and Heath needed shit done.
“This is literally a matter of life and death,” Heath added. “I’m looking for someone who was in the Wine Shack at 9PM last night.”
“Fine,” Bert said, his sarcasm barely filtering through his tone.
Heath ended the call, closing his eyes. He couldn’t help breathing deep, though. He couldn’t have enough of the amaranth scent in the room.
Last night had been amazing. Daniel had looked at Heath with those pleading, desperate eyes, and Heath... he’d almost broken his promise to himself.
He’d been on the verge of offering Daniel his protection.
And if he never contacted Daniel after today, Daniel would probably never forgive him.
3
Daniel
It was the day of his presentation, and Daniel felt sick.
The lights were too bright. The background conversation in the office was too loud, and the bodily odors of everyone—they made him want to retch.
He gulped, staring at the too-big conference room, the red circular logo of Alpha Foods on the projector screen behind him. For a whole month, he’d been talking himself into this moment. Get the presentation on competitor data right, and maybe the big boss of Alpha Foods might allow him to stay.
Daniel picked at the cushioned armrest of his chair, trying to make small talk with the beta next to him. He couldn’t remember which department she came from, or even her name.
Mostly, his nerves made him feel like puking.
Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up on anyone. The door’s fifteen steps away. That’s your emergency exit.
Daniel gulped. He smiled at the beta, hiding his hands in his pockets so no one would see them shaking.
I’m not going to get fired. I’m not.
He couldn’t help the fear, though. Three months ago... he’d been in a similar presentation. Tim had been leading the discussion following Daniel’s briefing, and Sally had interjected. She’d understood the presentation differently; the discussion had gone off-topic.
Instead of defending Daniel, Tim had agreed with Sally, and criticized Daniel in front of the entire room.
Tim was the boss. And he had also, in secret, been Daniel’s alpha. Not that any of his other employees had known, when Tim had taken every precaution to remove his scent from Daniel.
So Daniel had blurted in front of everyone else, You know what this presentation is about. I’ve spoken to you about it.
And Tim had shot back, That was a private conversation. You’ve gone off-topic here.
Feeling betrayed, Daniel had retorted, You could’ve told me during all the other times we were together.
And the room had gone deathly silent. Tim’s face had gone blank, like he tended to before he flew into a rage. Then he’d said, You’re fired, and Daniel had stared.
Daniel had said, But we’re meeting for dinner tonight.
Tim had answered, Not anymore.
And he’d pointed at the door, telling Daniel to get out. Like Daniel was a disposable asset.
His nerves too tight, Daniel shoved the memory away, blinking himself back to the conference room. This was a different company. He didn’t have an alpha who would betray him. Hell, he didn’t even know who the Alpha Foods boss was.
So no, things were going to be okay. No more bad memories. He’d do his best, and it would be good enough.
“Don’t worry,” the beta next to Daniel said, patting his arm. She smiled. “Things will go fine.”
Someone cleared their throat. The conversation in the room quieted, and
