Page 23 of The Sterling Acquisition
Back in 4B, Dante dug through his luggage for his Gensyn issue supplements. He needed scent blockers. His body’s response to Orion’s intensifying pre-heat was becoming impossible to ignore, and the last thing he needed was to walk into that room in a state of barely controlled arousal.
Because nothing says ‘professional’ like showing up chemically armored against your own hormones.
Dante located his emergency supply of industrial-strength suppressants—military-grade blockers designed for deep cover operations in hostile pheromonal environments. He dry-swallowed two pills and waited for the familiar dual action to take effect.
Slowly, the sensory suppression began, a gradual numbing of his olfactory receptors that made the world feel distant and muted. Colors seemed less vibrant, sounds dulled, and the ever-present awareness of others’ emotional states through their scent signatures faded to background static.
It was like suddenly operating through thick glass—protected, but also isolated from essential sensory input. Gensyn operatives jokingly called it “going corporate zombie”.
The blockers would help him maintain professional distance, but they’d also handicap his ability to read Orion’s biological responses—a significant tactical disadvantage when dealing with someone as skilled at hiding his intentions as Orion was.
Of course, you’re about to spend several hours alone with someone whose scent has been systematically destroying your professional objectivity. But sure, a couple of pills will solve that problem.
Time to find out how much of his Gensyn training would survive extended exposure to whatever the hell was going on with Orion’s pheromones.
The locks on Orion’s room disengaged with their familiar series of clicks, and Dante opened the door, knowing they were both done pretending this was about corporate consultation.
The scent hit him immediately—storm winds and marshmallows, but now laced with something sweeter that made his mouth water despite the blockers. The pre-heat had intensified, and even through his chemical armor, it was making his hands shake.
Orion was sprawled on his narrow bed, dark hair damp with sweat, skin flushed with fever. His muscles were visibly tense, his body fighting his biology with the same stubborn defiance he showed Leo. When glassy amber eyes fixed on Dante, they were bright with challenge and something that looked dangerously like invitation, though his hands trembled as they gripped the thin sheets. Even from across the room, Dante could see the rapid, shallow breathing and the way Orion kept shifting position, unable to get comfortable as his core temperature climbed and his skin became hypersensitive.
Pre-heat was a miserable experience when fought rather than embraced. And Orion was fighting it with everything he had.
“Let me guess,” Orion began, “Leo sent you to do more ‘assessments’ while he deals with whatever crisis you manufactured at the facility.”
Dante smiled despite himself. “You know about that?”
“I’m assuming you did something to make him break his routine.” Orion shifted on the bed, and the movement made his shirt pull tight across his chest. “So what do you want badly enough to commit sabotage?”
You. Preferably naked, preferably begging, preferably right fucking now.
“You know what I want,” Dante said, closing the door behind him.
“Do I? Because last time you said you wanted me, but here you are still playing corporate games.”
Dante moved closer. “I’m here because I want to steal you from Leo before he gets a chance to chemically lobotomize you or whatever he’s cooking up in the research facility.”
“Steal me.” Orion’s voice went flat. “So I become your property instead?”
“You become mine, yes. But there’s a significant difference between how Leo would own you and how I would.”
The difference is that I’d know what to do with you.
“So you’d be a more competent owner?” Orion’s laugh was sharp. “How progressive.”
“Significantly more competent. Leo wants to break you into compliance. I want to keep you exactly as you are and earn your cooperation instead.”
Earn it through superior technique, better strategy, and the kind of attention to detail that would leave you too satisfied to remember why you were fighting in the first place.
“Earn my cooperation in being owned.”
“Earn your cooperation in a mutually beneficial arrangement within realistic parameters.” Dante’s tone carried casual confidence. “Omegas need Alphas, Orion. It’s biology. The question is whether you’d prefer an Alpha who appreciates your intelligence or one who sees it as a problem.”
Orion stared at him in a way that Dante could see something dangerous building behind those amber eyes.
“You really believe that. You think owning me would be good for me.”
“I think it would be considerably better than the alternatives you’re facing.” Dante took another step towards him, and even through the blockers, Orion’s scent was making his mouth water. “Chemical bonding, physical coercion, or attempting to survive as an unprotected Omega.”
