Page 69 of Overeager
Some people did consider claiming bites a relic of the caveman days. A leftover tradition from when they’d all roamed together in packs. It had once been a sign of a mating bond that couldn’t be contested or—some would say—an alpha’s ownership over an omega (and vice versa, in Eli’s opinion).
But studies showed that a bite melded a couple’s pheromones in a very real way, one that made it possible to have a deeper understanding and feeling for each other’s moods and health status.
They weren’t permanent—theycouldbe broken, though it was a sad, painful process—and not everyone went for them these days. As evidenced by Eli not having Richard’s bite, even after a decade of marriage (although the prick had always lied about “one day”).
Not everyone believed in them as a necessary sign of partnership, but Eli was realizing, now that he was with the right person, that maybehedid. He had a feeling Noah did too.
He cleared his throat, banishing the idea from his mind for now. It was a little too dangerous to be thinking about claiming bites when he was hormonal and locked onto Noah’s knot. “Anyway, the lucid periods will get shorter. I’ll need your knot more and more as we approach the peak. Your body will get the message, so it shouldn’t be a problem for you. With how fast itcame on, it could burn bright and be over in a few days, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
Noah was stroking Eli’s lower belly now, tracing the outline of the bulge his knot was making. It was distracting, but Eli still was fairly certain he was listening.
“Noah?”
“Yeah, baby?”
Eli needed to say it now. While he was still lucid. “I do see a future with us. I promise.”
Noah’s hand paused its stroking, and then he was hugging Eli so tightly against him it dislodged the breath from Eli’s lungs.
Noah loosened his hold immediately. “Sorry. I just— Yeah, I do too. A really, really good one.”
Eli kind of wished they were facing each other now, but that wouldn’t be possible for a while yet. He laid his hand over Noah’s, relaxing back in his alpha’s arms. “Good. I’m glad.”
They held each other in silence for a long time, and then Noah pressed a kiss to Eli’s head, telling him, “I’m gonna shift us so we’re lying down, okay? You should get a little catnap while you can.”
Eli nodded his agreement. A catnap sounded good. His eyes were already getting heavy just at the suggestion.
“I should have brought snacks in here.” Noah cursed as he shifted them horizontal. “I should be hand-feeding you while we’re knotted. And fuck—water. I’ll grab it all when we separate.” He growled, the sound full of self-recrimination. “I’ll do better, Eli. I promise. I’ll learn to take such good care of you.”
Eli stroked a soothing hand along Noah’s arm, the one wrapped like a comforting band around his chest. “Sweetheart,” he murmured, his eyes falling closed. “You came when I called. You’re here. You don’t need to do any better than that.”
19
Noah
Noah rocked his hips in a gentle rhythm as he held the strawberry to Eli’s mouth. “C’mon baby. One more bite. Do it for me?”
Eli whined in protest, his eyes shut tight as he pressed back into Noah, inner muscles clenching around Noah’s cock as he tried desperately to milk Noah’s knot for more. He’d get it too. They’d been locked together for over an hour already, but Noah’s knot wasn’t going to subside anytime soon, not with how things had been going tonight.
They were on the third day of Eli’s heat, and as far as Noah could tell, things were reaching their peak. Eli was barely coherent, only speaking to beg for Noah’s cock or his knot. He was at the point of needing to be filled pretty much all the time, and the only way Noah could get him to eat or hydrate was to offer things while they were locked together, when Eli was slightly more relaxed and compliant.
Slightlybeing the key word.
Eli still wasn’t taking much at this point—Noah was only able to coax him into some of the sliced fruit he’d prepped and some sips of water—but that was how it went during heat. Omegas inevitably went into a calorie deficit at their peak as their bodies focused on the main drive of heat—mating.
Noah had known all that, but it was still hard not to stress over it in the moment. Eli was so small, and his body was working so hard. Noah was bigger and stronger, and he was barely keeping up, making do by hastily eating protein bars in the brief periods of time when Eli was passed out and Noah’s knot was deflated. He’d eat as quickly as possible, then try to catch as much sleep as he could afterward, recharging as best as he was able.
Just do what you can, he reminded himself now, the food he was offering still uneaten.Go with what feels natural. Eli needs you calm. He needs you present and focused.
He kept rocking his hips, holding the strawberry to Eli’s lips, and sure enough, after another disapproving whine, Eli finally took the strawberry from him, sucking the juices off Noah’s fingers afterward. He then tilted his head back for a kiss, and Noah gave it to him, capturing Eli’s mouth lazily, his hand cupping around Eli’s throat.
They were spooning, Noah wrapped around Eli’s back. It was the most comfortable position when they were knotted together, and comfort was key at this point, with Eli needing Noah’s knot so often. Eli’s cozy nest was absolutely saturated with their scents—their scents and their cum. The last shower Noah had been able to get Eli to take had been early yesterday morning, and that had only happened because Noah had fingered him throughout, then fucked him furiously against the shower wall afterward.
They’d left the shower messier than they’d started.
Now Eli broke the kiss with a little whimper, his head falling down onto Noah’s bicep as his eyes shut. He was finally falling asleep again.
Eli hadn’t lied about being needy during his heat. From what Noah had learned in sex ed, all omegas craved a knot during one, but for some, that was it. In between knots, they wanted their own space, wanted their alpha to leave them be while they napped in the nest on their own. But Eli needed to be touched at all times, it seemed. Needed Noah wrapped around him whether they were fucking or not. Needed to be kissed and petted to sleep.
