Page 248 of Labor of Love

“I brought you here for a reason.” Ryland glanced around and ran a hand through his hair. “I want to claim you. Here, in my home. Tonight, if you’re willing.”

Lothian swallowed. His throat had gone dry.

“I—”

Ryland took Lothian’s hands in his and kissed them. “Please, Lothian.”

Lothian met his gaze and tried to find a response.

He could no longer say he didn’t know Ryland. Dante had been right about that. He knew the important things. He knew Ryland wanted him, cared for him. And he cared for Ryland, too. They would soon be raising a child together.

Could he take that step and bind them together forever?

Lothian didn’t have to think long. He reached for Ryland and lifted his face into a kiss. Ryland sighed, the breath fluttering against Lothian’s lips, and wrapped his arms around the omega.

The kiss grew deeper and was followed by another and another, until they were both shaking with arousal. Ryland pulled back. “Wait.”

Lothian bristled. “What?”

Ryland smoothed Lothian’s hair back from his face. “Not here. We should do this properly.”

Lothian kissed him again. “If we’d been doing thisproperly, we wouldn’t be where we are now.” He gestured at his burgeoning belly.

Ryland chuckled. “I suppose that’s true. But this part, I would like to do right.” He stood and swept Lothian up into his arms.

Lothian gasped. “Ryland! You can’t possibly carry me!”

“I can and I will.” Ryland grinned and set off toward his bedchamber. Lothian clung to his neck. When Ryland setLothian down near his bed, he grew shy, twining his fingers in his skirts.

“Are you sure you want to?”

Ryland lifted Lothian’s chin and met his worried gaze. “More than anything.”

He slowly stripped Lothian’s clothing away, piece by piece, dropping kisses on each inch of exposed skin. He spent a long time caressing Lothian’s rounded stomach before getting on his knees and taking Lothian’s cock in hand. Lothian gasped, eyes widening as Ryland lowered his head and sucked the tip into his mouth.

“Ryland!”

Pleasure zinged up Lothian’s spine. His muscles tightened. He swayed with the intensity of the sensation. It took mere minutes for Lothian to be nearly as lost to arousal as he had been in heat. He reached for Ryland and drew him to his feet. Ryland grinned and dropped a quick kiss on Lothian’s lips.

“You taste sweet.”

A flush crawled up Lothian’s neck. “You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.” Ryland took a moment to shuck his own clothes before returning to Lothian’s side. He lifted the smaller omega in his arms again and laid him on the enormous bed. Then, he crawled between Lothian’s spread thighs. “I want to do this, too.”

He bent to kiss Lothian’s belly, then his pelvis and his thighs. He kissed and licked Lothian’s cock before sliding farther down the bed and licking a stripe between his cheeks. Lothian’s back arched in pleasure.

Ryland took his time, licking and sucking at all that tender flesh until Lothian was writhing on the bed and chanting his name.

Finally satisfied with having driven Lothian to the brink, he climbed back up his body until they were face-to-face. “Are you ready?”

“Please, Ryland! Yes!” Lothian’s whole body throbbed with need. His hole ached. He gripped Ryland’s shoulders and drew him into a kiss, tasting the sweet and salt of himself on Ryland’s tongue.

Ryland slid slowly into him, drawing out the sensation until Lothian groaned. Once he was fully seated, stretching Lothian so deliciously, he began to move. His golden gaze focused on Lothian’s flushed face.

“Lothian, love, I needed you so badly.”

“You have me.”

---