When Sutton finally speaks, his words are barely audible. “Are you suggesting Zayd and I… That he and I have sex? Like… with each other. Without you involved.”
I nod.
“No,” Zayd says, his tone low and authoritative. “I do not know how this is supposed to work, but I do know that it is supposed to involve the three of us.”
“I’m sorry, guys. But I think you are denying what you know has been happening between you.”
“If any bond is necessary, it is the one between you and me, omega.” Zayd stands. “I will not entertain any other possibilities. No alpha has ever bedded another male. Regardless of the way your scent on Sutton makes me feel, that is not the solution.” Zayd storms off as tears well in my eyes.
“Stay here,” Sutton says when I start to get up to go after Zayd. “Let me talk to him.”
My heart twists. Zayd may be angry at the idea, but my instincts still tell me I’m right, and the idea of letting Sutton go after him, alone, scares the shit out of me.
But what other choice do I have? If I am right, why stand in the way of the inevitable?
Sutton gets on his feet. Standing before me, he lifts my face with a finger under my chin to look him in the eyes. “I promised I would never abandon you again. I hope I can trust you not to abandon me either.”
Tears pour down my cheeks.
“I know you’re scared, baby,” Sutton says. “But the worst thing we can do is push each other away. Even if I know nothing else, I know we need each other. Do we have you?”
I try to speak, but my voice is choked out by the tears. All I can manage to do is nod.
“Good.” Sutton leans down and kisses me, breathing life into me. Giving me hope.
“Trust me,” he says and follows Zayd’s path.
I whisper in his wake, “Always.”
Chapter 29
Sutton
Besidesthecargoareaand cockpit, the only other place I know to look for Zayd is the sleeping quarters. That’s where I find him, sitting on the bottom bunk of the four that fold out from the walls, two bottom, two top, that mirror each other on the outside walls of the chamber.
“Hey,” I say, leaning against the open door frame after the door slides away inside the pocket in the wall.
Zayd stares at the floor, bent over his lap, his forearms resting on his knees.
“This shit’s pretty intense, huh?” I say, and he still doesn’t bite.
When I sit on the bunk across from him, he grimaces and turns his head.
I don’t have to guess why. The combined scents that got us here are extra potent in this tiny room.
“I don’t get it either, Zayd. I’ve never been aroused by another man before. It’s fucking weird.”
Zayd keeps his head turned away from me. “Layla has to be wrong about this. I care about you, Sutton, but I never thought it would be like this. It cannot be like this.”
“I understand. I feel the same way. But… I gotta say, I don’t think Layla’s wrong.”
Zayd whips his head around to look at me, his all-black eyes wide. Scared.
“But I don’t think you’re wrong either,” I add. His expression softens a little, so I continue to explain, “I believe you need to bond with Layla, but I don’t think that’s enough to complete the bond between the three of us because, while she’ll be bonded with both of us, you and I still won’t be.”
Zayd drops his head to stare at the floor again. “How can you be so calm about this? Do you even know what you are saying?”
“There’s something else Layla is right about.” My hands twitch to reach for him, but I hold back when he raises his eyes to mine again. “We’ve been denying our feelings. It’s why I ran off. I felt something for you I didn’t want to feel. It’s a feeling that’s easier to accept when Layla’s with us. I wasn’t planning on ever confronting you with this, but leave it to a woman to force us guys to confront our emotions.” I chuckle, hoping his experience with women is at least somewhat relatable.
