You should leave. You should be getting suppressants back to your brothers instead of sitting here with your hand on his face like you have any right to touch him.
Riot couldn’t make himself pull away.
“Riot?” Cass’s voice was barely a whisper. “Can I... can I stay close to you? Like last night?”
Say no. Say no. Say no.
“Yeah, princess. Come here.”
Cass made a sound that was half laugh, half sob as he surged forward, wrapping his arms around Riot’s shoulders and burying his face against his throat. Riot’s hands hovered uselessly for a moment before settling on Cass’s back—careful, so careful, his fingertips tracing the edges of scars he now knew existed.
“Thank you,” Cass whispered against his neck. “For not thinking I’m ugly.”
You’re the furthest thing from ugly I’ve ever seen.
Then Cass shifted, nuzzling closer, and—
Oh, fuck.
He was scenting him.
It seemed unconscious, the instinctive way pre-heat Omegas sought comfort from Alpha pheromones. Cass’s nose pressed against Riot’s pulse point, breathing deep, and a small sound escaped him. Pleased. Content. Like he’d found exactly what heneeded. He didn’t seem to know what he was doing and didn’t understand.
But Riot’s body didn’t care about innocence. It only registered:Omega. Pre-heat. Scenting me. Claiming me.Mine.
The pressure spiked so hard Riot saw stars. His hands tightened on Cass’s back, pulling him closer, and Cass went willingly—more than willingly, pressing his whole body against Riot’s with a soft moan that nearly broke what remained of his sanity.
“This feels...” Cass’s voice was dreamy. His hips shifted, rubbing against Riot’s thigh, and the friction made them both gasp. “Oh. That’s... different.”
“Different how?” Riot’s voice came out wrecked.
“Different from cuddling with Honey. Different from anything.” Cass pulled back just enough to look at him, pupils blown so wide there was barely any hazel left. His cheeks were flushed, lips parted, and he was still rocking against Riot’s thigh in tiny movements. “I feel... warm. But not bad-warm. A different kind of warm. Here.” He pressed a hand to his stomach. Then lower, palm flat against his own groin, brow furrowing in confusion. “And here. That’s never happened before?”
Riot should explain. He should tell him what was happening, why his body was responding, what it meant when an Omega pressed against an Alpha like this. But if he explained it, Cass might get scared and pull away. He might stop making those little sounds and rubbing against him…
He’s an adult, some desperate part of Riot’s brain rationalized.He can make his own choices.
He doesn’t know what he’s choosing, the rest of him argued back.He doesn’t even understand what’s happening to his own body.
But Cass was still looking at him with those wide, trusting eyes, waiting for an answer, and Riot...
Riot was so tired of fighting.
“It’s normal,” he said. “Just your body adjusting.”
“Oh. Okay.” Cass relaxed back against him, tucking his face under Riot’s chin. “It feels good. Strange, but good.” He nuzzled into Riot’s throat again.
You should be getting suppressants back to Stave and Prepper. You should be getting OUT of the Neutral Zone before someone recognizes you from that ATM heist. You should not be lying here letting a pre-heat Omega rub against you while you pretend it’s innocent.
But Riot felt like an overfilled water balloon with the pressure building and building with nowhere to go.
“Riot?” Cass’s voice was sleepy now, his movements slowing.
“Yeah, princess?”
“Do Berserkers ever cuddle with anyone? Or is it just me?”
His cock throbbed so hard he had to bite back a groan.
