Heat for sale

“You know it.” Lance gri

Adrien shivered. “I guess I want more than that.”

Lance chuckled. “Go on. Say it.”

“I want someone to love me.”

“Of course you do,” he said, kindly. “We all want that. And with you being without any family at all, you must want that even more. But here’s the thing, Adrien, you can have that someday, but probably not now.

Unfortunately, it’s time for your first season, and you’ve been so introverted

—”

“Dedicated to my studies!”

“Whatever. Fine, dedicated to your studies. What I’m saying is that you’ve never put yourself out there. You’ve never looked for anyone to satisfy that need for you—which makes sense now that I know more about where you came from. In those religious communities, alphas do all the flirting and courting, don’t they?”

“Yes.”

“Right. And so, right now, you’re out in the real world, where omegas are the ones who are supposed to convince alphas they’re worth taking on. So, yeah. At this point, you’re going to have to take whoever wins you for this heat.” He said it as compassionately as possible, but Adrien couldn’t help but hear the echo of his father’s urging throughout his life: Make friends, Adrien, go to church more often, smile at the alphas there! One day you’ll need them to want you, boy, and you’ll want them to love you.

But he’d always been too shy.

Lance kept talking, “But, hey, it’s not the end of the world. See this as an adventure and an opportunity. Besides, you never know, this could actually lead to you finding the one. Mr. H. Battershell could be your dream man.”

“You’re such a romantic.”

“I can’t help it. It’s just the way I’m made.” Lance stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Please, Adrien. Come to class tomorrow and get back to our research. You’ve only got a few weeks before the heat auction is over, and then you’ll be absent. I know you’ll want to learn all that you can about that Hontu dye. And, yeah, if people are staring it’s because they’re jealous at what a rich young man you’re about to be.”

Adrien nodded and tried to make his voice sound like Lance’s cheering up had worked. “You’re right.”

Lance winked. “And maybe they’re staring just a little because your asshole is super-duper hot.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. Still, he couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks. I guess.”

“Anytime.”

Chapter Four

ONE WEEK LATER, the auction closed with Adrien’s bids at a near-record high, coming in second only behind a young man twenty-two years prior—the first to ever offer breeding in his auction price.

The wi

When he asked Ron Finch about details on Battershell, he only got a bunch of blather about how the man was wealthy, and private, and that Adrien should be honored that he’d taken an interest in him at all.

“So I don’t even get to know his name in advance?”

“He’s been explicit with his instructions. He will give you all the information you need about him in person.”

Adrien struggled to pull in a breath. It felt like bands had tightened around his torso at Mr. Finch’s words. “Okay,” he managed to say.

Mr. Finch tutted at him, like he was a naughty little boy for asking questions and then he gave Adrien the pills that were supposed to jumpstart his heat. “When the prickling begins, you’ll know it’s working.” He passed on a note with an address and a date stamped on it. “You’ll meet him there in four days. Arrive before noon. He wants the heat to already be kicking in when you get there, so be sure to start the pills immediately.”

“Is that normal?” He’d hoped to have some time with the alpha beforehand.

Mr. Finch shrugged. “Some men like to spend a few days together pre-heat to get to know each other. Others want to leap right into the main event.

He’s a main event kind of guy. You have transportation, don’t you?”

“Yes. I have a car.”

“Excellent. You can drive yourself, unless your heat feels too far gone,

and then we’ll arrange for a driver. That address is up in the mountains. Be sure to map out how to get there in advance. There isn’t a lot of cell service where you’re headed.”

Adrien swallowed hard. He’d be alone in the woods without cell service with a man he knew nothing about, vulnerable, and begging. Everything felt cold and hot at once. “Are there any pictures of him or…?”

“No. He’ll meet you at that address. Remember, the money is held in escrow by the university until the heat and breeding are accomplished. Then, regardless of whether or not a pregnancy takes, they’ll pass it on into your account.”

Adrien nodded. “I see. Thank you.”

“I’m proud of you, kid. Not everyone can bring in numbers like that. I have to admit you surprised me.” Ron smirked and waved Adrien out the door. “Good luck to you.”

Good luck to him? That was all? He was on his own now? Adrien’s gut danced anxiously as he considered the next four days. He shook a pill out of the bottle and tossed it into his mouth as he walked back to his dorm. He knew it was all in his head, but as soon as he swallowed the pill, he started to feel a little warm.

He wiped at his sweaty forehead and hoped he wouldn’t lose his nerve. It wasn’t like he had a choice anyway. There was no chance to back out now.

THE HOUSE WAS a cabin in the woods. Small for a man with so much money to burn, but what did Adrien really know about that? Maybe H. Battershell liked to keep things simple despite his immense wealth. Adrien’s father would have admired that.

The cabin was definitely isolated. If Adrien got spooked and wanted to run, he wouldn’t get very far on foot. Perhaps that was why Battershell had chosen it. He slid his hand over the steering wheel to reassure himself that at least he had his car.

Putting it in park, he turned off the engine and straightened his glasses. In the trunk, he had his luggage. Enough clothes for a week of heat and a few days of recovery time, as well as the usual toiletries one needed on a trip away from home. His insides tangled like a burning, writhing, seething pile

of snakes, making him squirm. He’d sported an erection and endured a slick, wet asshole since before he’d even left the dorm that morning. The evidence that his heat was coming on strong was indisputable, but he wasn’t suffering from the mindless need to rut that he’d heard so much about. He supposed that was still ahead of him.

Adrien opened the car door and stretched. His asshole released another rush of slick, and he trembled. Not knowing how long he had before he lost reason and sanity in the primal irrationality of heat, he hoped he was able to meet Battershell and feel safe before that happened. Right now, everything about his current situation left him weak-kneed and nauseous with nerves.

The door to the cabin opened, and a darkly bearded man came onto the porch, where he stood and stared hungrily at Adrien. His eyes appeared gray beneath thick brows, and he was taller than Adrien by at least four inches.

His body was well-honed, with strong thighs and muscular arms. He stood barefoot and wore dark jeans and a tight black T-shirt that gripped his pecs and biceps. Not exactly the vision of a man of extraordinary means, but Adrien didn’t know what he’d been expecting when he’d input the address into his GPS that morning. A mansion and a suit, perhaps? Servants holding the door of his car open and showing him into a glittering, mammoth home?

Possibly.

Not this small cabin for sure.

“My name’s Heath,” the man said, and his voice was a low rumble that wrapped around Adrien and gripped him by the balls. “But you’ll call me

‘sir’ until I say otherwise.”

Adrien swallowed the sudden lump of fear in his throat. “Yes, okay.”

“Yes, okay, what?”

“Yes, okay, sir?”

“That’s right, Adrien.”

It didn’t go u

Heath stopped in front of him, raised a thick, dark brow and said, “Your profile pictures didn’t show glasses.”

Adrien touched the stems and said, “I can take them off, sir.”

Heath nodded and put out his hand. Adrien removed his glasses, the world around him immediately going fuzzy and less defined. He put the glasses in Heath’s hand, feeling even more vulnerable without being able to make out the crisp lines of Heath’s face.

“Strip,” Heath ordered. “You won’t need your clothes from this point forward.” He motioned toward the luggage in the back seat of Adrien’s car.

“Or any of those other things, either. I paid for your heat and for breeding you. That means these next few days, or however long it takes for your heat to pass, are mine to command.”

Adrien squinted, trying to make out if Heath was joking. He wasn’t sure if that was how it worked, actually. He’d never asked anyone who’d been through a heat what was expected. He wished he’d asked Lance more about it. Even though he’d never had his own first heat, he seemed to know a lot about it. Adrien didn’t move for a long moment, considering Heath’s words.

But Heath stared at him so confidently, with so much intensity, that he could make it out even with his blurred vision, and he eventually found himself unbuttoning his shirt with shaking fingers.