AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry,” Delton said. What was he sorry for? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Hell, he hadn’t even touched Oliver where any other man would’ve pinned him against the wall and be balls deep inside him. He was naked and needy, a shameless slut begging to be fucked. What man said no to that?
“I understand,” Adar said.
Why were they talking when Oliver needed cock? Again, he rutted against Delton, who was still wearing all his clothes.
“Come here, angel,” Adar said. “I’ve got you.”
Oliver let go of Delton and held his arms out to Adar, who lifted him effortlessly. Oliver wrapped his legs around him and reached backward to find Adar’s cock. That beautiful, big cock would take away the emptiness. But even when it slid inside him, even when Adar was as deep inside him as possible, the craving didn’t dissipate.
He raised his head from Adar’s shoulder and looked at Delton, who still stood next to him. His clothes were rumpled, with wet spots from where Oliver’s cock must’ve smeared precum. And in his nice slacks, Delton’s erection was undeniable, perfectly outlined.
Oliver pointed at it, making a needy sound.
Delton shook his head. “No.”
“Yes,” he whispered.
“What does he want?” Adar asked, his low voice rumbling in his chest.
“For me to join,” Delton said. “Which is not going to happen.”
Oliver whimpered as he rocked himself on Adar’s cock. “Why?”
“Because this is your heat talking, not you. Because you don’t really want this and will regret it afterward. Because I’m not your agreed partner. Adar is. And most of all, because you’re my patient, and I would never violate my ethics like that.”
The force of that truth pierced through the clouds in Oliver’s brain, and shame filled him as he hung his head. See? That was why he hated being in heat, why he hated himself. How could he have ever suggested that? “Sorry…”
A gentle finger lifted his chin, and when Oliver looked up, he met Delton’s kind blue eyes. “I’m not angry with you,” the beta said softly. “I know this isn’t you. You have nothing to be ashamed about or sorry for.”
How could he be this kind after what Oliver had done? It floored him. But the haze in his head grew stronger, and no matter how hard he fought it, he couldn’t push it back.
Warm lips kissed his forehead. “Let it go, Oliver. You’re safe here. Among friends.”
Safe.
He’d never been safe during his heat. Ever. And when his heat took hold of him again, he felt a little less empty inside.
Chapter Seven
Whoever had coined the phrase “love hurts” had sure as fuck known what they were talking about.
Although in his less dramatic moments, Delton was fair enough to question if you could call it love if you’d never exchanged more than a few words with someone, but that was more of a theoretical debate. Whether he was in love with Adar or had attached himself to the alpha because he’d been convinced they were mates was irrelevant. The bottom line was that seeing Adar with Oliver had hurt.
Though funnily enough, not as much as Delton had expected. Probably because he’d recognized Oliver had truly needed Adar.
Like many betas he knew, Delton had mixed feelings about heats. They were hard to understand for someone who didn’t experience them because they were so intense. But the bigger reason was that they had an emotional component, a level of neediness and dependence that appealed to most alphas. Kind of hard for betas to compete with that, especially ones as smart and independent as Delton.
He’d seen fellow beta friends force themselves to become more like omegas, displaying a similar cleanliness, though far more artificial. He’d never understood that. What was the point of getting someone to like you based on an act that wasn’t you? As if you could keep that up for the rest of your life? At some point, the real you emerged, and what would happen then? One pissed-off alpha, that was what.
But watching Oliver and his heat’s effect on Adar had been eye-opening. The alpha had done everything in his power to make it a good experience for Oliver, but he had been uncomfortable at times. Not in a judgmental sense, though. Delton had watched both men throughout the experience and hadn’t seen any judgment in Adar’s attitude or expression.
No, it had been a discomfort rooted in something else, and if Delton had to take a guess, it had to do with Adar being well aware Oliver was asking him to do things he wouldn’t normally want. And that, in a nutshell, was the biggest reason Delton had such a hard time with the concept of a heat. Any biological process that made you lose control and crave things you didn’t want was a problem in his eyes. And watching Oliver had only reinforced that opinion.
Gods, the moment Oliver realized what he’d asked Delton… The pure shame and self-hatred in his eyes had been almost too much to take. Delton had wanted to hug him, reassure him he understood, but Oliver’s mind hadn’t been clear enough to process that. Heartbreaking to see someone battle a force he had no chance of controlling.
That, too, had hurt. And as time had gone on, interestingly enough, empathy for Oliver had overpowered Delton’s feelings of being left out, of having to watch the man he’d pined after for so long be with someone else. In the end, compassion had won out. Delton would’ve felt proud of himself if not for the bitter taste it left in his mouth because how could he not feel sorry for that poor omega? Kind of hard to pat himself on the back for being human, wasn’t it?
He’d hoped Oliver would seek him out, that he would make good on his agreement to talk to Delton. But alas, in the two weeks after his heat, the omega had avoided Delton. Not that he had tried hard to find him, wanting to leave the initiative where it belonged.
