Heat for sale

Adrien smiled, but he said, “Simon would probably complain if he had to feed us while we’re stuck together.”

Heath chuckled, squeezing Adrien tight, and then he heaved up to standing with his cock still buried deep. Adrien’s legs went instinctively around his waist. “Let’s go to your bedroom. The books I was telling you about are in there.”

With great reluctance, he lifted Adrien off his cock, gratified by the boy’s shudder and gasp as his thick dick left him. He didn’t put him on his feet, though, enjoying the size difference between them, even if he did think Adrien needed to put on some weight. Heath carried Adrien easily, legs slung

over one arm and his back rested against his other. Adrien’s arms wrapped around Heath’s neck, and he helped support his weight.

“This is a little silly,” Adrien said, as they drew closer to his room.

“Being carried. I can walk.”

“Indulge me,” Heath said, inserting that edge of command that turned Adrien to mush. Predictably, Adrien relaxed in his arms and laid his head on Heath’s chest, rubbing his cheek against the hair there.

The room was neat except for the messy bed that Adrien hadn’t bothered to make when he got up from his nap earlier in the afternoon. Heath put Adrien down in the soft bed, lowered the window screens to block out the admittedly ominous night forest, and turned to the bookshelves. It was warm in the room with the space heaters going, but the windows had let a lot of it leach out, too.

Heath raised a brow, rethinking the whimsy of this glass-walled bedroom.

He’d imagined it as romantic for Nathan—because, of course, that was whom he’d built these rooms for. But then Nathan had never wanted to carry a child with him, and, worse, had preferred the rococo rooms above, being a dramatic sort of man. It’d hurt Heath when he’d realized that the nest he’d built as a lure to capture the man of his dreams had been rejected out of hand, along with his wish for a child.

Nathan was charming but coldhearted. Adrien, on the other hand, lacked some of his omega parent’s intense charisma but more than eclipsed him in i

But, as he was finding now, perhaps he’d always personally needed someone more like Adrien. Someone who melted into him, opened to him, and trusted him against even his own fears.

“Here it is,” Heath said, shaking off his thoughts as he grabbed the book from the shelf. “Omegas and Pregnancy: What to Expect. This book contains explanations of heat, pregnancy, and birth, along with important questions to consider for the future of the family,” Heath read aloud from the cover.

“Fairly comprehensive stuff.”

Adrien watched from the bed, wide-eyed behind his glasses and still

flushed from the sex they’d shared. “I’ve always wanted to know more about how our bodies work but was always ashamed to ask,” he admitted. “I should have made it more of a priority in university. The omega research books in the library probably had some more detailed options for me to check out. I honestly just didn’t want to think about it.”

“It’s complicated,” Heath said. He got into the bed with Adrien, fine-tuned the brightness of the lights in the room, and adjusted the pillows so that he was comfortable.

Adrien curled against his side, easy as could be, like it was where he belonged. Heath’s heart squeezed, and he tried to keep himself from thinking along those lines. The questions at the end of the book—they wouldn’t reach them for many weeks if they read a few pages a night—might help clarify things for him, but for now he just wanted to enjoy Adrien’s scent and touch.

To feel his purpose as an alpha fulfilled by the man in his arms and the child he held within.

“‘Chapter One, Heat,’ ” he read aloud, curious if Adrien would protest that he already knew about that, having just gone through it.

But the boy kept quiet, rubbing his cheek against Heath’s chest hair and listening as Heath reviewed the subject in depth.

And when Adrien fell asleep in his arms, Heath admitted to himself that he’d be content to spend every evening just like this one for the rest of Adrien’s pregnancy. Everything felt right, and so long as he thought about nothing but Adrien, he could dare to let his heart dream.

Chapter Fourteen

“I THINK YOU’RE going to have to tell him,” Simon said, grabbing Heath’s arm by the massive front doors of the upstairs castle as he headed out into the midday sun for yet another appointment.

“Let the man gestate in peace,” Heath said, jerking his arm away from his oldest friend. “He doesn’t deserve to have his pregnancy all twisted up with information about his omega parent. He’s happy. Let him enjoy that.” Heath paused on the front steps and turned back around.

Simon stood framed by the big doors, arms crossed, and jowls shaking as he gnashed his teeth.

“He is happy, isn’t he?” Heath asked. Simon was with Adrien all day.

He’d know better than Heath who only saw him in the evenings after work and appointments were knocked off his calendar.

“I wasn’t speaking of Adrien, but, yes, he’s happy. Though you should tell him, too.”

Heath walked back up the stairs and tugged Simon into the cool shadows of the opulent entryway. “What are you going on about then?”

“Your brother. You should tell him about the baby.”

Heath rubbed his forehead. “I don’t see why I should.”

“Because he deserves to know that his and Ned’s fortunes have changed.”

Heath snorted. “Don’t think I’m not perfectly aware of why you want me to tell Lidell. It would make things easier at home for you.”

“That it would. Is my comfort in my home life so insignificant to you that you’d begrudge me that?”

Heath stared into Simon’s loving eyes. He knew the old man was using his affection to manipulate certain outcomes, but he couldn’t truly blame him for it. “I have absolutely no desire to endure Lidell’s tantrum when the child isn’t even born yet. Adrien is still very early in the pregnancy. He isn’t even past the point where I lost the last one.”

“That’s a fair observation,” Simon conceded. “But you know this pregnancy seems to be going much better than that one did. You’re bonding

well, and Adrien’s relaxed and eating nicely. Nathan isn’t here to put a strain on him.”

Heath felt the muscle in his jaw twitch, and he took an extra moment before replying, “It was never Nathan’s fault that my first child was lost.”

“Wasn’t it?”

“No!” Heath barked.

Simon shrugged. “It was a horrible thing to happen, and I understand your reluctance to deal with Lidell before you’re certain the pregnancy will come to term. But I also think you prefer to ignore what makes you uncomfortable in favor of concentrating on things that bring you joy.

Sometimes to the detriment of everyone around you and to your own goals.

You did that with Nathan. You’re doing it with Adrien and with Lidell.”

“I want to be happy, too, Simon. Am I not allowed a little of that? After all I’ve been through with Nathan and losing him, after dealing with Lidell and Ned’s misery-inducing complaints and problems for years, and after giving up my dreams of being an architect to run a musty old family estate, don’t I deserve to wallow in some pleasure and joy?”

Simon’s jowls jiggled again as he seemed to work out a suitable reply. “I always wish for your joy, but you bring much of that pain on yourself by refusing to face and deal with it from the start. If you’d accepted Nathan for who he was, hadn’t tried to change him, or if—”

“Don’t!” Heath said, putting out his hand to stop the unwanted flow of words. “I’m late.”

“By refusing to hear me out, you’re doing exactly what I’m saying you shouldn’t: ignoring pain in hopes that it will simply go away if you don’t attend to it.”

Heath turned on his heel, left Simon sighing in the entryway, and stomped out into the sun again. The car was waiting for him, and he pulled away from Clearwater Castle with his pulse thrumming.

Heath just wanted peace. Was that too much to ask? He wanted to spend the next few months of Adrien’s pregnancy enjoying the simple things, learning the man’s body and mind, hearing stories of his past, and maybe, just maybe starting to spin some hopes for their future.

Reality had a place in the future. He would eventually have to inform his brother and Ned about the changes in their fortunes, but there was no need to rush it. As for talking to Adrien about Nathan, obviously there would come a

day when he would need to explain. After all, if they did build something together, if their paths intertwined as a couple in the future, there would be no way to prevent Adrien from meeting Heath’s friends and family, all of whom would see the resemblance immediately.

But there was no need to rush that. They had months still, and Adrien was in the early stages of his pregnancy. There was no need to upset him just yet.

For a fleeting moment, Heath wondered how much it would cost him to bribe all of his friends and family to simply forget that Nathan had ever existed and to embrace Adrien without revealing the truth. But even he knew that was impossible.

The question of when to tell Adrien was an important one; the timing would need to be just right. He’d never intended for his heart to get involved or to even entertain the idea of Adrien being in his life going forward. He still wasn’t sure it would even play out that way. Adrien was easy to be with, and he’d taken to being cared for like a duck to water, but pregnancy hormones make all omegas pliant, amiable. Don’t they?

Heath scrubbed a hand over his face, wishing that he had simply told Adrien up front. Then there would be no question at all. Why hadn’t he foreseen that living with a pregnant, beautiful, willing, open-hearted, i

All he knew for sure was that now was not the time to stir the pot.