Page 70 of Echo and the Homicidal Sea Panda

A slow smile spread across Mael’s face. “Ido.Especially when it’syouwearing them.”

Echo fought a smile. “I know you just got cleaned up… but I thought you might like to come over here and get messy with me.”

Mael tugged off the towel and tossed it over his shoulder. “Anytime of the day, baby.”

He walked closer and climbed onto the bed, zeroing in on Echo’s bra. In a snap, he had it unhooked and removed.

“You’ve done that before,” Echo said.

“Plentyof practice,” Mael said, his gaze fixed on Echo’s chest.

“You’ve dated a lot of women?”

Mael lifted a brow. “Let’s not have this conversation.”

Echo frowned. “Why not?”

“Echo… I’m an alpha.”

“Meaning?”

“You’re my omega. Alphas are possessive, overprotective assholes when it comes to our omegas. If you tell me about some guy who’s been with you, I’m going to lose my mind. I don’t want to be that asshole, so it’s best not to tell me about your past partners.” He toyed with one of Echo’s nipples. “It’s bad enough that the thought of another man putting his child inside you had me ready to commit murder this morning.”

Echo inwardly gasped.“Seriously?”

“Instinct is a son of a bitch sometimes,” Mael said, his brow furrowing. “I didn’t like feeling that way.”

“I’m glad you didn’t like it,” Echo said. “You shouldn’t.”

Mael didn’t reply. He slid a palm from Echo’s knee to his thigh, gliding over the silk.

“Just to clarify, I was asking aboutyourexperiences. I never mentioned mine,” Echo said.

“I didn’t want to tempt comparison,” Mael said. “But if you must know, I’ve been with my fair share of women.”

“How many men?”

Mael lowered his hand and met Echo’s gaze. “None.”

Echo blinked a few times, a slight dizzy feeling washing over him. “I’m the first man you’ve been with?”

Mael was silent a few seconds. “A few months ago, I was secure in my straightness. Then I saw you and… everything changed in an instant.”

Echo was silent for a minutes, allowing his brain a moment to mull over that.

Mael was straight. Until him.

There had been no signs of qualms, concern…

“That was a major change in how you perceived yourself,” Echo said, worried Mael might be struggling and hiding that struggle. It had only been a few weeks. He couldn’t possibly have come to terms with learning he was—whatever label he’d chosen. “I can’t imagine you’ve fully processed that yet.”

“Homosexual behaviors have always existed within the animal kingdom, be they human or not. It’s normal.”

“Animals accept that… humans often don’t.”

“Humans have fucked it all up,” Mael murmured. “Their establishments created laws that made normal human behaviors illegal or immoral, and they all bought into it like a herd of sheep. Then our ancestors had to engage with the human world and some of their bullshit rubbed off on us. Notallof it, though.”

“I agree, but it doesn’t answer the question of howyoufeel about suddenly learning you’re not straight.”

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