Page 53 of Hot for Teacher
“Um, I’ve been reading up on it to prepare for my next one with Eli,” Noah said. “There’ll be a lot of scent marking.” He gave a pointed cough, waving a hand in the air, though he did it with a smile. “Seems like you’ll be used to that.”
Chase flipped him off.
“Some alphas are big on submission,” Noah continued, ignoring the gesture. “Get real riled up if their partner isn’t, like, pliant enough to their whims or whatever.”
Chase hummed noncommittally. That wouldn’t exactly be a problem for him, would it? Killian only had to crook his finger and he’d have Chase dropping to his knees without a word.
“And if there’s a … connection,” Noah added, giving Chase an unreadable look. “There will be some mating ritual elements. Like hand-feeding and über-protectiveness and stuff. Alphas in rut like making sure their … partner is taken care of.”
Chase tugged at his lower lip, thinking all that over. So basically it would be like how Killian acted already, only with the intensity ramped up a bit.
And the knotting. He couldn’t forget the knotting.
Chase shifted in his seat, wincing at the immediate reminder of the mess in his underwear. Jesus, he couldn’t believe he’d sat down to chat like this. He needed a shower, like, yesterday.
He stood. “Okay. Thanks, guys. Lemme clean up and I’ll join the game.”
“Um, Chase?” Noah stopped him with a gentle hand on his wrist, although he didn’t try for a scent mark. “You good?”
“Yeah.” Chase gave him a vague smile, already turning toward his room. “I’m always good.”
16
Killian
“Ireally appreciate you meeting with me.”
Killian grunted out something that might have sounded like “no problem” if his jaw had been a little less tense.
He was getting too close to his rut, and he really should have been spending as much time home as possible, not out in public. But he’d needed to take care of something first. Or he’d thought he’d needed to. It was possible he hadn’t been thinking quite clearly when he’d arranged this meeting.
Eli Miller looked the same as ever. Short and slender and fine-featured—an ideal omega in the old-fashioned sense of it, if one ignored that he was whip-smart and clearly professionally ambitious, seeing as how he had locked down tenure by the age of thirty-four.
He was sipping the coffee Killian had given him and pretending not to be confused as to why Killian had summoned him to meet in person.
Killian was possibly wondering the same thing. It had been a last-minute decision he was now regretting. He’d just … wanted to see. Wanted toknow.
Although,whathe’d wanted to know wasn’t coming to mind at the moment.
Eli sniffed the air, blanched noticeably, and set down his cup. He cleared his throat, leaning forward in a way that seemed to imply he was getting down to business. “You know, I was wondering why you didn’t just make this an email, but then my boyfriend told me this morning that we actually have a mutual acquaintance.”
It took a moment for that to register. Killian sat back in his chair. “Chase told Noah about us?”
Eli cocked his head. “You seem surprised.”
“I am.”
“But not upset.”
“No.”
Killian was anything but upset, even though he hadn’t known that Chase had spoken to his roommates. Killian was fighting not to immediately read too much into it, actually.
Something had shifted for him when it came to their relationship, that night he’d picked up Chase from the restaurant, when Chase had finally shared some of that pain inside him and where it came from. And Killian’s impending rut was only stirring it all up that much more.
Killian was done with restraint, with secrecy, with playing it safe. He wanted to claim his beta. Officially. Publicly. He was fairly certain with the slightest bit of encouragement he’d be ready to move Chase into his home this very day.
But even with his hormones raging and impatience running through his veins, Killian knew Chase wasn’t ready.
