Page 5 of Slow Heat
“Dig a little deeper,” he suggested. “It might be at the bottom if someone turned it in late last night.”
He admired the way Xan’s neck reddened in his irritation as he dug around in the bottom of the bin. It brought to mind how his body flushed when they played alpha and omega—like they had yet again that morning.
He’d lucked out in a roommate all those years ago. Other alphas either spent a ton of quality time with their hand, or they had to cultivate close friendships with willing betas, because once the storm of puberty hit, so did nearly torturous peaks of horniness.
Jason used to have beta pals in his neighborhood at home, and some of them had been willing to accommodate his needs when he was younger. But now that his cock had grown into its full alpha size, most had decided the pain wasn’t worth the pleasure anymore. Betas were more like Old World men. Their anus wasn’t as robust or elastic as an omega’s and their pain tolerance not as high as an alpha’s. Luckily, over the summer at his parents’ beach cottage, he’d met a few slightly older betas that enjoyed alpha dick. He hadn’t liked the casualness of those encounters, though. There was no foundation of friendship for role-play, or laughter, or fun.
With Xan, he had all that and more.
Xan’s high pain tolerance made the penetration pleasurable for him, as far as Jason could tell, and he loved to play in every sense of the word. Jason smiled slightly, remembering Xan’s helpless laughter that morning as Jason had licked his hairy armpit, demanding his ‘omega’ submit to a tongue bath.
“Shit.” Xan chucked another book to the side and dug even deeper into the pile, his ass up in the air as he bent deeply into the bin. “Why doesn’t wolf-god love me? What have I ever done to offend him?”
Oh, just ridden another alpha’s cock and begged for more.
Jason bit his cheek. It wouldn’t do to say anything in public about the games he and Xan played in private. Xan had enough internal conflict over it. He didn’t need more, even as a joke.
What Xan allowed Jason to do to him violated half a dozen commandments of the Holy Book of Wolf. Being unmanned—that’s how the holy book referred to an alpha being penetrated. It wasn’t just unseemly or unusual; it represented a loss of status, as evidenced by the use of wrestling and rape between alphas in the early years of Wolf to establish power and dominance or to exert authority and claim lands.
Now, power and dominance were all in a family’s name, reputation, and holdings in today’s world. Thank wolf-god for that. With his long-scrawny limbs, so like his Pater’s, he’d never be able to take down someone like Wilbet Monhundy. No, if he had to fight for his place in society, he’d be on his stomach in a heartbeat, ass up, taking a massive alpha cock, and resisting every second of it.
Good thing the world was more civilized now.
The door behind them opened and closed, letting in the cool fall air. Jason shivered beneath his light jacket.
“Maybe this one is close enough,” Xan said, pulling the red-spined book out again. “How different can one edition be from another, really?”
Jason snatched the book from his hand, flipped through the pages, and tossed it back into the bin. “Different enough.”
“Hey! I need that.”
“I’m telling you, you don’t. The first chapters on reproduction and the stuff about omega glands and the production of slick are totally different.”
“How?”
“They used to think that the omega glands swelled painfully during heat solely because the extra slick was needed for the alpha’s knot, but now they know the alpha’s pre-come and semen play a role in reducing the inflammation as well, changing the pain to pleasure for the omega. That’s why alpha dildos and fists only go so far in relieving the pain, and why omegas aren’t as easily satisfied when alphas use condoms. The new theory states that the pain of overly swollen omega glands and the anti-inflammatory properties of alpha semen serve as yet another way of propelling the species to come together and procreate. Anyway, all of that’s totally different in the new book. Dr. Romaire Epstar had that big break on all of this last year, remember?”
“Why would I know that? Why wouldyouknow that?”
Jason rolled his eyes and glanced at his watch. Ten minutes until class. “Because I’m an enormous nerd, Xan.”
He was a nerd with a pretty face, wealthy parents who owned a busy shipping company, and a trust fund to keep him in style until he inherited the rest, but a nerd all the same. Jason resented his social standing, though he knew he was lucky to never have to worry about money. When it came to society parties and the like, he’d rather stay home and read lame science journals for fun, and Xan knew it. They were both powerful men’s sons, and yet they were both barely on the edge of their school’s social sphere for a reason.
Jason went on, “Besides, who has the photographic memory here? Me or you?”
“You,” Xan agreed reluctantly. “And I hate it. Living with you for four more years is going to be insufferable.” He shot Jason a hot look from under his lashes, and Jason’s dick twitched.
“Yeah, insufferable. If we’re lucky, it won’t be four years,” Jason reminded him. “Only two more until we meet with the first group of available omegas at Mont Juror to see if any are ourÉrosgápe.”
And if they didn’t find their bond-mate, they had four more years of meetings with Mont Juror mature omegas before they’d be pressured to contract with an unbonded omega through one of the Philia Committee soirées.
Xan gave a tight smile and nodded. “Right. No more need for roommates then. Or not like now.” He paused and cleared his throat, his blue eyes darkening as he searched Jason’s.
“If we’re lucky,” Jason agreed.
Xan’s gaze fell back to the pile of books in the book return bin. “Shit.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “How am I going to write this paper?”
Jason tugged on Xan’s soft jacket sleeve, smiling at the expensive fabric and stylish cut of his friend’s clothing. Never a penny spared to look as smart as possible where Xan was concerned. Jason didn’t spare expense either, but he kept things simpler. No fancy fabrics or bow ties, like Xan enjoyed—just nice-fitting pants, a solid navy button-up shirt tailored to fit well, and new leather loafers.
