Page 56 of Overeager
“I see your preheats are the same as ever. Moody, Lijah?”
Now it was Eli’s turn to let out a growl. It was horrible of him. Completely unprofessional. And he could hear students whispering in the background, no doubt eating up all this drama.
But hehatedbeing railroaded like this. He had thought signing the divorce papers would put an end to this dynamic.What right did Richard have, to show up and humiliate Eli in front of his class? His omega studies class, no less?
His next words made it out through clenched teeth. “If you don’t leave in the next five seconds, I’m calling campus security. This is your final warning.”
Richard blinked at him in surprise, and Eli almost laughed. Had Richard really thought that even after a year apart, Eli would have forgotten to grow a backbone? Or was he really going to force Eli to put his money where his mouth was right now and call security on him?
But then Richard was leaving, walking out the door with one last disappointed shake of his head.
Eli cleared his throat, trying to get control over himself and his now completely wayward pheromones. He couldn’t look at Noah, even as he faced the rest of the students. He was too afraid of what he’d see.
Too afraid to witness what he might have just ruined.
“All right, class. Apologies for the … distraction. Let’s get started, shall we?”
15
Noah
The day had started out so well too.
Noah had been jazzed—he was going to spend the night at Eli’s tonight, and they were going to have a discussion about heat expectations. He knew it was supposed to be, like, a serious, adult conversation, but he couldn’t help the fact that it was also going to be so fucking hot.
He hadn’t been able to get the dirty thoughts out of his head ever since Eli had said he was going to be … needy.
Which was kind of ridiculous to obsess over—most omegas were needy during their heats, to some extent, at least.
But this would be Eli.HisEli, needing Noah on a basic, primal level, more than he ever had before.
It was heady as fuck. And Noah had known there was no way the discussion was going to end with anything other than them doing filthy, filthy things to each other.
So Noah had walked into class on a happy, horny cloud, chatting easily with Chase, who’d proven how well he could keepa secret by just hownotweird he was every time they entered the Omega Studies lecture hall.
And then Noah had scented them—those strong, tobacco pheromones that had been lingering on Eli’s skin a few weeks ago. The pushy businessman, Eli had told him. Except as soon as Noah had looked over and seen the man—the definition of tall, dark, and handsome—looming over Eli, his hand on Eli’s lower back, possessiveness in every inch of his body language, Noah had known.
This was Richard. The ex-husband.
And now Noah was frozen in the middle of the classroom, unable to take another step.
He couldn’t make a scene; he knew that. He’d fuck everything up for Eli if he did. But Noah couldn’t make himself walk away either. Not while that dickhead was standing over Eli like he had a right to, pushing his pheromones at him like he had any. Fucking.Right.
“Do we have a guest lecturer, professor?”
Noah didn’t recognize his own voice, the tense, gravelly edge to it. Chase was whispering at him urgently, telling him he needed to go sit down.
And Eli just looked … Well, he clearly wanted Noah to sit the fuck down too.
And then the ex-husband spoke to Noah, smug and dismissive as all hell. “Just a visitor, son.”
Son?Son?
Fury raced through Noah’s veins, hot and swift, even as Eli insisted Richard was leaving.
Eli, who hadn’t told Noah that Richard was back, sniffing around. And Noah couldn’t even blame him, at least not if he was thinking clearly. Alphas could be weird. Territorial. He knew he wouldn’t have handled the news well—he would have ached to scent Eli every day before school, just in casethe asshole appeared again. Which Noah wasn’t allowed to do. Because they were a secret.
He should have realized anyway, shouldn’t he? Of course Richard was back. Of course he’d walked away only to realize there wasn’t anything better than Eli out there for him.
