Page 4 of Free Me

They all four eventually ended up inside the car, and Jaxson pointed it toward Alton’s neighborhood. It was adjacent to the richest, ritziest part of Sansbury, so the house was pretty damned huge. Three stories, circular driveway, pulsing with light, music and moving bodies. Cars lined the driveway andstreet, and everyone within a three-block radius had to know where tonight’s party was.

Linus led his mini-pack up the brick walkway to a wide porch covered in string lights and full of people. With the gorgeous, unseasonably warm winter night, the party had spilled outside, and from the foyer, he could see straight through the house to the big backyard where more people were chilling. Everyone Linus knew from school seemed to be there, plus a bunch of players who’d graduated when Linus was an underclassman.

Drinks found their way into his hand, and Linus basked in the hugs, back-slaps, compliments, occasional kisses, and congratulations from friends, acquaintances and total strangers. A small part of him that loved intimate gatherings with his family and best friends chafed at the attention and wanted to hide. The part of him that was, as Miko had so delicately put it, the youngest in a family of successful overachievers, basked in the glory of tonight’s win and temporary fame.

He fucking deserved this.

Their team captain eventually turned the music down and did a long, slurred speech about teamwork, talent, and kicking ass that got lots of cheers. Linus was toeing the line between tipsy and drunk, so he slowed down on his consumption. He wanted to have a night to remember, not black out and forget the fun.

After the speeches, Linus let himself be pulled into a pile of dancing bodies, mostly alphas and betas, but the enticing scents of a few omegas rose over the general odor of beer, pizza and body sweat. Ending tonight by getting laid would be the perfect cherry on his sundae, but Dad’s voice kept whispering in the back of his mind not to do this while drunk. Respect himself and his partner; don’t let his dick do all his thinking.

More whiskey might get Dad’s voice to shut up for an hour or two.

He moderated his beer with soda and danced, his already-high metabolism working to burn off the alcohol before he got too wasted. He was pretty sure he was, anyway. The party lights were bright and blinking, and sometimes the music didn’t seem loud enough, but he never stopped moving. He washappy, damn it. Years of sacrifice and practice and missing fun events had led him to this goddess-damned moment, and he was going to enjoy it.

Fuck, he really wanted to get laid.

A new, writhing body entered his immediate proximity, and the sweet scent—strong but familiar—made Linus’s blood hum. He turned and his pulse jumped. Miko was dancing beside him, moving like a living, breathing seduction, and that cravable scent, like toasted coconut, went straight to his half-hard dick. He’d danced with Miko before, dozens of times, but he’d never reacted like this to his best friend.

His bestomegafriend, who he should not be undressing with his eyes right now, but hotdamn!

Linus stopped thinking and wrapped his arms around Miko’s waist. Pulled him in closer so their hips were thrusting together. Linus was the same height as Miko—who was already unusually tall for an omega—and he adored the way Miko seemed, for the first time, to be made perfectly to fit against his body. The other dancers melted away, and he stared into Miko’s dark brown eyes. Saw only trust and excitement and curiosity in them. Miko’s mahogany skin had a darker flush to it, and the entire room seemed a bit extra-warm now.

His gaze dropped to Miko’s plump, damp lips and for the first time in his life, he wanted to taste them. To feel them against his own and to match Miko’s scent to his flavor and to know every intimate thing about him.

Miko stiffened, his motions faltering, and it knocked Linus back into his head. Another alpha—he’d been a senior whenLinus was a freshman, so he couldn’t remember the guy’s name—had come up behind Miko and was grinding on him. A pair of unwanted hands gripped Miko’s hips from behind. They were in a large group of gyrating bodies and frequent partner swapping, but Linus still growled.

Miko’s eyelids fluttered, and he mashed his body closer to Linus’s, his expression clear:get me away from him.

Gladly.

Linus tucked Miko under his left arm and navigated a path out of the dancing throng and toward the staircase. Alton always said the three rooms on the left side of the hallway were free game during parties, just stay out of his parents’ bedroom. Miko didn’t hesitate or protest, simply followed him upstairs. The first two doors were shut, but the last stood open. No one was inside, so they went in and shut the door.

Instead of a bedroom, they stood inside an office with a desk, several bookcases, and a long leather sofa situated beneath a large window. Lights and sound from the backyard revelers drifted up, giving them some background noise without being too distant from everyone else. Not quite the same sense of privacy as the conservatory at the Porter estate—a favorite make-out location in a house frequently used for large parties—but it was something.

“Thanks for the save,” Miko whispered. “It was getting a little intense down there.”

Disappointment sank his heart into his shoes. “Oh, right. Sure. We can, um, just chill for a little while.”

Miko twisted so they were once again face-to-face, hips-to-hips, his hands now resting on Linus’s shoulders. “The other guys were getting intense. I liked what we were doing. A lot.”

Hope gave his heart a little kick. “Me too. I didn’t want to share you.”

“Good. Because I get to choose who gets what when it comes to my body. I’ve had a lot of long talks with my parents about that, especially as an omega some Traditionalists still see as inferior property.”

“You’re no one’s property, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.”Mine.The territorial thought surprised him but he didn’t pull away from Miko. Instead, he leaned in closer and pressed their foreheads together. Their breaths mingled, and their scents seemed to wrap around each other. This felt soright.Why hadn’t he felt like this with Miko yesterday? Or even a few hours ago?

“Will you kiss me?” Miko asked. “Before you’re famous and don’t have time for me anymore?”

“I’ll always have time for you. I’d do anything for you.”

“Prove it.”

Miko tilted his chin, his lips so close to Linus’s mouth, a gift on offer. A gift Linus very much wanted to accept, but something deep down kept him still. His life was about to change again, and he wanted something to stay the same. To keep and protect this stable, wonderful friendship. But what if they could have something bigger? What if they were?—?

“Shit, Miko.” Linus pulled back, his hands on Miko’s wrists, and he really took in his best friend. His heightened scent, his general glow, how hot his skin felt. The abruptness of this attraction to each other. “Are you feeling heat symptoms?”

“What?” Miko blinked dazed eyes at him. “Why would you…oh. Maybe? Fuck. I’m sorry.”

---