Vincenzo

Eric remained tense, even as I held his hand and assured him that I meant him no harm. He refused to unwrap his arm from around his middle. His shoulders held so tightly I worried he’d pull a muscle. I could understand his trepidation, but I had never lied to him before and I wasn't now.

I knew it would take time for my omega to trust me, but it hurt all the same.

I held his hand as we walked from the store to the car. Eric told his coworker that he was heading home early. The guy didn’t even bat an eye at Eric being led away by three random guys, which made me question just how safe Eric would have been here by himself. The town looked nice enough, but if his own coworkers didn’t have his back then he was a sitting duck. Dombruso and his men could have taken him weeks ago. If they had found him before I had, Eric would have been in serious trouble.

Davy monitored the area as we walked to the car. His eyes scanned the parking lot and street for any threat. Not that I expected there to be one.

"How many of you are here?" Eric asked quietly.

"Just me, Davy, and Trev."

He nodded.

"Are you weighing your options on whether you can run?" I was only half teasing. I needed to know just how much convincing was ahead of me before my omega trusted me.

His eyes went wide as he looked at me, and he shook his head. "No. But we'll have to explain to Miss Marley why you're here. There isn’t a whole lot of room for people in my apartment. I don't even know what the guest policy is since I haven’t had anyone over."

It was a short drive to the boarding house where I knew my omega had been staying. We parked in the little driveway.

"You walk to work each day?" I asked.

Eric nodded. “It’s short, and the weather has been nice enough that I haven’t had any issues.”

Never mind that he didn’t need to be on his feet that much while he was pregnant. Walking to and from work, plus working on his feet all day? No wonder it looked like my omega was about to pass out. Had he been sleeping? Eating enough? From the looks of him, he had not.

“What were you gonna do when the baby arrived?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. There's a daycare not far from the house, but I haven’t thought that far ahead yet."

His baby bump was small, smaller than Dominic's had been at the same amount of gestation, which had me worried. "Have you been to a doctor? Do you know how far along you are or what your due date is?"

He shook his head again.

There was so much we needed to talk about.

We exited the car and went into the office. The lady at the front desk raised an eyebrow. She shot Eric a look. "Do you want them here?" she asked, leaving no doubt that if he told her no, he didn't want us here, that she would make us leave.

"It's fine," he said. "Can the other two hang out in here for a while or maybe one of the empty rooms? They can pay. I need to talk with Vincenzo."

She nodded, then pulled out a deck of cards. “Hunker down, boys, and be prepared to lose some money.”

Eric led me to his room. It was a cute little place that he’d set up to suit his needs. On the windowsill was a tiny little pot with a plant in it. "It’s your pothos plant. I thought you left it behind."

"I did." He shrugged and glanced at me. "But I took a clipping. It's not doing the greatest, but I wanted to have some of it with me. I was surprised it survived the trip in my backpack. What did the household staff do with all my stuff that I left?"

"It's exactly where you left it."

He sat down on the bed and chewed on his bottom lip, wringing his hands in his lap.

"I understand why you left." I sat next to him. "I suspected it was because of a pregnancy. I was…distraught when I returned from my trip to find that you had left without telling anyone where you were going. Dominic didn’t give you away, well, not until I asked. He begged us not to find you, said that you wanted to be alone. Is that what you want?"

A tear slipped out of the corner of his eye, and he sniffled. He wrapped his arms protectively around his middle. "I know what happens to pack omegas when they get pregnant. Rare as it is, I couldn't let that happen to my child. Couldn't let that happen to us. I know I can't be yours, Vincenzo. I don't want anything from you. I don't need anything from you. I'll never come after you for child support or anything. I simply want to be left alone.”

He was insane if he thought that was a possibility. That I’d leave my child alone and unprotected in a tiny little town. “That's not good enough for me."

"Please." He whispered the word. If I wasn’t already in love with him, I would have fallen at that moment. He was being so brave, protecting our unborn child.

I tilted his face toward me. “I meant what I said at the store, Eric. I want you to be my mate, my husband. Be at my side just as Dominic is at Lorenzo's. I love you."

"You can't." The sadness in his eyes broke me.

"I can. I have Lorenzo’s blessing. Even if I didn't, it wouldn't make any difference. Being without you has been absolute torture. If you tell me now that you don't love me and don't want me, then I'll go. I will insist on being a part of my child's life, but we can co-parent or whatever it is that people do when they don't want to be together but they share a child. But you have to tell me, Eric. Tell me you don't feel the same, that you don't want to be with me."

"I do," he whispered. "I do love you, Vincenzo. That's why I had to leave. I didn't want to force you into a life you didn't want."

"You aren't. I want this with you. Always.” I kissed his lips. “Please let me show you how much I missed you, how much I need you."

"You want to be my alpha…"

“Forever.” I kissed his lips, coaxing them open while the stress melted from his body. I slipped off his shirt and jeans, and with it, the reluctance he had seemed to melt away.

He needed me the same way I needed him. We had been away from each other too long. His fingers threaded into my hair, and he held me as if he was afraid I might disappear. He moaned against my mouth. “Alpha. Need your cock, please, alpha.”

“I’ll never deny you anything, my omega.” I gripped his hips and lifted him, then placed him gently on the bed as I chucked off my clothes.

“I hope the sound-proofing in this room is good. I’m gonna make you scream for me, sweetheart.”

Eric grinned. “I’ve called out your name every night while touching myself.”

I groaned and buried my face in his neck. My naked body covered his. He spread his legs, and I settled between them. The scent of his slick filled the air. “Fuck, how I’ve missed you, my love.”

“Show me.” His voice shook with need.

I kissed him deeply, and he locked his legs around my hips. My cock found his entrance, and slowly I was able to bury myself inside him. His slick easing the way without the need for stretching.

His channel clamped around my length. It had been so long for me and I wanted him so desperately I was afraid this was gonna be over before it even began. I slowed my efforts, hoping to draw it out even longer.

“Fuck me, alpha. I want to feel it. Feel you.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I slammed into him, and his fingernails dug into my back. It was as if he couldn’t get me close enough to him.

I felt the same. I never wanted my omega to leave my arms.

Eric’s cock was hard between us, and I gripped his length. I jacked his cock to the rhythm that I fucked him. Soon he was spilling his release into my hand with a shout.

“Vincenzo!”

I couldn't hold back anymore. I slammed into him and released deep inside him. My hips jerked and my knot grew, locking us together.

I didn’t wish to crush him, so I rolled us over so that he was lying on top of me.

“Missed you, omega.” I kissed his cheek.

“I missed you, alpha. I love you. I’ve loved you for so long. I was sure you’d never be mine.”

“I’m yours,” I said. “Always.”