Oliver whimpered, the weight of the alpha bringing out something timid and prey-like in him. “You knocked me down.”
“No,” Lucas replied, roughly licking the cords of Oliver’s throat. “Waiting room. Pacing. Notepad.” And Oliverhadbeen pacing up and down the waiting room with his notepad… but that’d been hours before the verdict. Had he truly not noticed the alpha?
Oliver felt light-headed, giddy almost, as Lucas’ masculine scent slammed into him with the force of a tidal wave. “S-Stop that,” he stuttered, unable to prevent a string of breathy whines escaping his mouth.
A sound rumbled deep within Lucas’ chest, something feral and possessive. “Lucky we’re apart in the day,” he said, opening his jaws to clamp around the entire width of Oliver’s abdomen. There was a rush of emotion across the bond, like liquid fire in Oliver’s belly. Lucas growled, his teeth grazing over Oliver’s soft flesh. “Nose wrinkles when you concentrate. Stamp your foot when you’re angry. Freckles… Fucking freckles.” Then the alpha’s tongue swiped across his skin, and Oliver could feel his self control slipping away. “I want to devour you,” Lucas said. The words felt bottomless. “Consume you. Mine.”
Shit, was he actually being eaten alive?
“L-Lucas,” Oliver panted, bracing his front feet against Lucas’ colossal skull. “Alpha, you said… you promised. Friends.” Lucas stilled, blinking several times. His hot breath warmed Oliver’s exposed belly until he dragged his mouth away. Oliver could see the sky again, the stars were finally out.
Cold, hard clarity cut through the dizzying haze of pheromones, and he shoved a back foot into Lucas’ chest, pushing him away. They were notfriends. They would never befriends.Lucas wanted one thing, and one thing only.
“Rut. Yes? My only worth?” Oliver snarled, their bond pulling taut as a garrotte.
Lucas lurched forward, bringing their faces level. “No.”
Oliver twisted under the alpha. “Consume, devour.Control.Alpha’s always in control.” Anger bubbled in his throat, spitting across his tongue like venom. “Do it then! Have your way, and be done!”
“No,” Lucas growled louder, pressing their skulls together so all Oliver could see were the alpha’s hazel eyes. But he was already arching and thrashing out of his grip, cursing himself for being so stupid. Soveryfucking stupid for baiting the alpha. Again.
He ran. And ran. And ran. Sprinting all the way back to the huts. He knew Lucas was behind him, following from a distance at half his speed.Bounding up the rickety steps, Oliver shoved open the wooden door and ripped his clothes from the locker with his teeth. He stalked into a partitioned cubicle, letting out a sharp breath as he shifted with such speed it was almost painful.
Then moonlight poured into the hut, as Lucas’ silhouette loomed in the doorway.
“Go away,” Oliver snapped, gritting his teeth as he quickly shut the cubicle door.
There was a low rumble, followed by shuffling, then bare feet padding across the wooden floor. “My clothes are in the lockers, Reed. Do you want me to walk back to the hotel naked?”
Oliver huffed. “I want you to go away.”
The door clicked as Lucas stepped into the adjacent cubicle. “And I want to take you to fucking dinner. But we can’t always get what we want.”
“Dinner?” Oliver spat, as he pulled the t-shirt over his head.“Dinner?”
“Yes, Reed,” Lucas growled, and Oliver could hear him pulling on his own clothes. “Is it so unimaginable that I should want to spend time with yououtsideof work? That I want to get to knowOliver. Not Detective Constable Reed. And that I want to have a conversation about somethingotherthan paedophiles?”
They did talk about paedophiles a lot…
“But most of all, I want to see you enjoy eating something other than biscuits or fucking toast.”
That sent a pang of guilt to Oliver’s belly. Because he did eat a lot of fucking biscuits.And also because the alpha’s voice cracked, giving his words a vulnerable edge. Oliver quietly pulled on his shorts and ran a hand through his hair. Silence hung between them, except for Lucas’ heavy breathing. Oliver could smell him through the partition, the thin plywood doing nothing to prevent Lucas’ scent drifting into his nostrils.
“Dinner,” Oliver eventually replied, hands braced against the door. “Not a date. Just dinner.” He heard Lucas let out a breath. “And Idoeat things other than biscuits or toast. I like Italian.”
The alpha chuckled, the tension vibrating through the partition wall. Oliver pulled on his trainers, and the soft patting that followed suggested Lucas was doing the same.
“I know,” Lucas said, followed by the snap of a hair tie.
“What?”
“I said,I knowyou like Italian food.”
Oliver frowned, running his hand over his throat. “How?” Then it dawned on him. “Matteus.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger, Reed.”
Oliver let out a sharp breath. “And just when did you find the time to speak to my brother?”
