Page 66 of His Surrogate Omega

Jamie rounded the island and took Gray’s chin in one hand and rested the other on the man’s shoulder. “How are you terrible?”

Gray shook his head and tried to look away.

Jamie felt the sting come to the backs of his eyes, and he fought it tooth and nail. Once he was sure he could speak without his voice breaking, he did. “You felt the bond.”

Gray turned back to look at him, frowning. “The bond?”

Jamie lowered his hand, quite sure he now had Gray’s full attention. “The bond. I know it’s been a while since your breeding classes in school—but I’m quite sure you had the same sexual education I did.”

Gray’s frown only grew. “We had little to no sexual education.”

“Well, Iwasa few years behind you. Maybe they changed things,” Jamie said. “The bond. The alpha-omega sexual bond. It’s a chemical reaction after sex. He’s marked you… and it makes you want him. It aids in linking an alpha to his omega. It’s what keeps other alphas at bay after the claiming.”

“But I’mnothis omega. You are.”

“In some ways, you are his,” Jamie said before resting his hand on Gray’s stomach. “Part of him grows within you even now.”

“If we’d done things in a lab… would he have marked me?”

Jamie shook his head. “No.”

Gray closed his eyes.

He knew he’d asked a lot of them both… but the stakes were high. It had to be this way… for so many reasons.

“I wish now I’d put my foot down and not given in. We shouldn’t have done this, Jamie.”

Jamie smiled widely. He’d assumed Gray knew this part, but now felt a bit guilty for that assumption. “But look what we’ve been given! Already you’re with child. We might’ve waited months…years… for this to happen.”

Gray nodded, but didn’t look mollified.

“You wanted this,” Jamie whispered, feeling a sense of desperation. “To provide for your family. To ease your heats and save yourself so much torment.” He brushed a hand over the top of Gray’s long, thick hair. “You wanted to feel how it felt to be wanted.”

“And now I know,” Gray said on a sob, his stare lifting to Jamie’s. His eyes glittered with tears. “And I wish I didn’t know.”

Jamie’s heart ached for Gray. Had it been too great a thing for him to know what he was missing?

“I’m sorry,” Jamie whispered, running a hand along Gray’s back. “I only wanted to help you.”

“No… I’m the one who’s sorry. For wanting what I shouldn’t.” Gray met Jamie’s stare. “For wanting what I can’t have.”

Jamie sucked in a gasp.

Gray looked down. “And now it’s ripped a hole in us both. Maybe all three of us. I’ve lost your friendship…”

“You’ve lost nothing,” Jamie declared, standing taller. “Nothing.”

“I’ve barely heard from you since…” Gray paused. “Since… I was with Rohan.”

Jamie swallowed past the lump in his throat. “It was hard… seeing and hearing what I did. Harder than I imagined it would be.” He caressed the side of Gray’s hair and smiled, tears filling his eyes. “But I don’t regret it. Not one bit, especially now.” Jamie caressed the side of Gray’s cheek before laying a gentle kiss there. “I didn’t know exactly what to say after. We all struggled in the aftermath, and I feared causing a rift between us with the wrong word.”

“I was afraid of the same,” Gray admitted, taking Jamie’s hand in his. “And afraid I’d lost you.”

Jamie shook his head before drawing Gray into his arms and holding on tight. “You haven’t lost me. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. Do you hear me?”

Gray hugged him tight. “Promise?”

Jamie moved back some and gathered Gray’s cheeks in both hands. “You and I are brothers of the heart. We are one. I adore you… and I love you.”

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