Page 35 of Warwick

“You didn’t do them because you wanted to though.” Warwick looked like he was going to argue. I reached out and touched his arm. He looked at my hand on his arm before his eyes met mine. “You didn’t, Warwick. You were forced to do those things by your master. That’s different than someone choosing to kidnap another person and sell them into a situation that they know will be abusive. There is a difference.” I wasn’t sure that Warwick would see it that way, but I hoped so.

I forked another bite of food and waited.

“You might be right. I did things that are and were horrendous though. And I’m fairly certain I could and would be capable of doing them again if I needed to.”

I swallowed before I slowly nodded. I was certain any of us could do things we wouldn’t normally, given the right circumstances. I forked another bite of food because I wasn’t sure how to move past where our conversation had gone. Luck was on my side when Warwick changed the subject and asked me about my job and if I enjoyed working with Dr. King at the omega clinic.

Chapter 13

Warwick

I’d spent the afternoon and the evening with Cecil. We had planned on going for a run but decided against it when it started raining. Not that rain would really bother either of us. But Cecil didn’t seem overly enthusiastic about the idea, so we’d spent the evening hours talking about the house and how we would like to decorate it.

But as the evening wore on, I noticed that Cecil’s scent became stronger. I had to wonder if it was because he was near me and I was his mate, and it was natural for an omega’s scent to become stronger in order to entice his alpha mate’s attentions toward him? I was certainly more than willing to be with Cecil in that way. It had been entirely too long since I’d had any sort of sexual contact that involved a second person. But was Cecil ready for that? Would he ever be ready for me? I would do my best to be as gentle as I could, but would it be enough?

We’d agreed on pizza for supper, simply because it was easy and I could use magic to get some of the best pizza I’d ever had. There were three boxes in front of us on the coffee table, and despite the fact that I’d eaten over half of the contents, I was eyeballing the last few slices.

“Go ahead,” Cecil said.

I looked at him. “What?”

“You’re thinking about the pizza. Go ahead and eat it. I can’t. I’m quite full.” Cecil fanned his face with his hand. “Do you think it’s warm in here, or is it just me?”

His cheeks were pink, but I thought that was just because he’d eaten the hot pizza. “I always feel a bit warm, but we pretty much agree that is because we’re hellhounds.”

“That makes sense.” Cecil turned completely sideways on the couch and laid his head against the back. My beast was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t know what.

“We’ve talked about everything except probably one of the most important things that mates need to discuss,” I said. I would wait to claim him as long as he needed me to, but I knew my beast well enough that the longer I was around him, the more my beast would push for claiming.

“Oh, is this where we finally talk about getting naked? And not so we can shift.” Cecil sat up and fanned himself again. “It seriously is hot in here.”

I tilted my head to try and study him better. “Cecil, how are you feeling?” I asked. I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. My beast growled in my head at the whoosh of scent that suddenly came our way. Cecil’s fresh scent was there, but there was definitely more to it.

“It’s hot. And I’ve been trying to figure out how to ask you to fuck me all afternoon, but I’m not very good at seduction. I’ve had sex before, but it was always after visiting a club. Everyone goes to them to hook up.”

I nodded. “Cecil, look at me.” He was squirming—had been for a while—trying to move around on the couch, but I didn’t pick up on why until just now. I took a huge chance. This was my mate in front of me, and, well, he was my mate, and he’d just said he was willing. I reached out, and when I placed my hand on the front of his pants, I encountered a hardness that might have been there, might not. But when Cecil immediately moaned and pushed his hips upward, trying to get more friction against his dick, I knew my suspicions had been right.

Immediately, I stood. Cecil seemed as if he wanted to complain, but he closed his mouth when I bent down and picked him up. He giggled, and I couldn’t help but smile at him—Ramsey be damned.

“Gah, you should smile at me more. You’re so sexy.” Cecil reached up and grabbed ahold of my beard. I definitely needed to trim it. “This is going to feel amazing when you rub it all over me. I can’t wait to feel it on my nipples. I love to play with them when I’m stroking my cock.”

Yep, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that Cecil was going into heat. I’d helped more than one omega through their heat cycles before. Was that something I was going to share with my mate? Not at the moment. It was something he would realize soon enough, most likely.

“Cecil? Did you want me to claim you?”

Cecil looked away from my beard and blinked. “Can you kiss me first?” He sighed. “I love kissing, but hookups don’t normally kiss. Which is fine. But still, I like kisses. Especially on my neck.” Another sigh.

It seemed as if Cecil going into heat was the perfect time to learn about lots of little secrets about my mate.

“I’ll kiss you once we get to the bedroom,” I said. I reached the stairs and started up, but Cecil suddenly tried to wiggle around.

“I was supposed to go to see Grandfather,” he said suddenly. He managed to squirm enough to where he started to slip, and I just barely was able to keep from dropping him.

“I’m certain that Alpha Vitomir knows that you are otherwise occupied. Especially after I spent so much time talking to Lev.” I readjusted my grip on him and continued up the stairs.

“Oh yeah.” Cecil sighed and laid his head back down on my shoulder. “I feel odd, Warwick. Is this because you’ve been with me?”

I reached the top of the stairs but continued on to the main bedroom. “Probably in part. We really should have talked about this earlier, but I’m going to ask anyway. Are you sure you’re all right with me claiming you?”

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