Page 105 of Drown My Sorrow

“Because.” I lean forward, ghosting my lips along his strong jaw. He clenches his fingers in my shirt and holds on to me. “You’re sabotaging, Mr Death Wish.”

Ezy stiffens. “Not true.”

“It is true, though. All these things have happened. You ran away from home, your parents died, I forced you to be mine, your omega is here, she got hurt, everything is spinning out of your control, and you feel nothing but anger that your parents couldn’t accept you for who you were, and now they’re dead, and you can never fix it. How could anyone else love you when your parents couldn’t?”

Ezy’s eyes well with tears. “How can you know that?” he rasps out.

I rest my cheek against his and wrap him in a hug so tight that when his legs give, I’ve got him.

“Because that was me years ago. But here’s a truth for you, Ezy. She was in love with you. Those emails that you sent her. She loved you enough to lie to us and try to sneak out. And I read them, and I really wanted to meet that person, too.”

Ezy starts to cry harder, more brokenly.

“Your parents can’t accept you, but we do. Let us be your people.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“But I do, I read all your emails, Ezy. Every word. I know that you like the stillness of the ocean more than the wildest waves. I know you love to eat cookie dough when you’re sad. You love action movies and fantasy books. I know you love Kelly and Gael more than anyone in the world. I know you don’t care about money or how much you just inherited, and all you want is someone who is happy to see you come home.”

“I need to prove that I’m worth something.”

“You don’t need to prove it, you idiot.” I snarl and push him back against the wall. Fine, if I can’t get through to him the other way, I’ll get through to him this way.

I open the bond and let him feel all the feelings I have for him. The fascination, the admiration, the raw sexual heat. I slide my hand down and into his pants.

“You were angry or frightened when we bonded you. It was never about what we did. It was the loss of control that terrified you.”

Ezy gasps into my neck, turning his mouth so the hot heat sits right there against my chin, our lips almost touching.

Reach out, Ezekial, reach out, and I’ll save you.

“I just want-”

“What do you want, Alpha?”

“I want a home.”

An image blooms through the bond so clearly and so detailed that I can see it in my mind. He comes home, and Aspyn rushes to greet him, Gael and Kelly hug him. I’m there grinning. Shale passes him a beer while Beau pulls him onto the couch to listen intently to his day.

He wants it more than I think I’ve ever known anyone to want anything.

“No one notices when I come home. Gael drinks too much, and Kelly is preoccupied,” Ezy whispers into my neck, answering my silent question.

I notice when he walks into a room, and I notice when he walks out, but I don’t think he’d believe me right now.

“Ezy?”

He lifts his face, and I kiss him before I can stop and think. I tease his lips open and push my tongue into his mouth, exploring every inch of this alpha that is quickly becoming an addiction for me. I pull back and realise I’ve got my fingers curled into his ass, dragging him up against my erection.

“Don’t ride those waves, Ezekial Boothe. Stay with me. Please.”

Other than Aspyn, I don’t think I’ve ever pleaded for anything before.

“I have-”

I kiss him again. “Please, Ezy, don’t go out there. You’re not in the right mindset, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“No one would miss me.”

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