Page 56 of Undone
The murmur of voices in the hall jolted him out of his pleasure-drunk daze. Grabbing his clothes and trying not to panic, Michael quickly dressed.
“You still smell like an alpha.”
Michael walked to the window and opened it, letting fresh air into the room. “Hugh gave me an alpha implant,” he said, running his hand through his hair. He hoped he sounded nonchalant and not at all like he’d just been eaten out of his mind. To make matters worse, there was still an unsatisfiedachedeep inside of him that craved Anthony’s cock despite the two amazing orgasms he’d just had.
Anthony made a humming sound. “So you’re going to keep pretending to be an alpha.”
Frowning, Michael turned around and narrowed his eyes at him. “There’s no pretending. I am an alpha.” He hoped he sounded more convinced of it than he felt.
Anthony’s eyes were soft. Knowing. “Of course,” he said. “You were born an alpha, after all.”
Michael tried to ignore the unsettling feeling in his stomach. Why didn’t Anthony’s words feel satisfying? Something about them rubbed him the wrong way.
He watched warily as Anthony approached him.
“Are you okay?” Anthony said, touching Michael’s wrist with his fingertips.
Shivering, Michael tried to quash the urge to tip forward and rest his face against Anthony’s throat. He smelled so good, even with Michael’s scent-blocker. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
Anthony’s lips thinned, his blue eyes roaming over Michael’s face. “I know I wouldn’t be okay. I would be furious. I would be freaking out.”
Michael smiled humorlessly. “The changes aren’t actually that strange thanks to the past few months. I was already used to my instincts not working correctly. Now it’s actually easier because there’s no dissonance between how I feel and how I’m supposed to feel, and it’s easier to focus on faking alpha reactions.”
Anthony nodded, looking at him intently.
His heart beating fast, Michael moistened his lips with his tongue. “We—we shouldn’t have done this,” he said, glancing at the couch.
Anthony smiled ruefully. “We shouldn’t have done a lot of things.”
Michael gave a laugh. “Yeah...” Realizing that Anthony was staring at him strangely, he frowned. “What?”
Anthony brought his hand up and smoothed the wrinkle between Michael’s brows. “It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you laugh. It’s—” He cut himself off. Pressing his thumb against the corner of Michael’s mouth, he said, looking him in the eyes, “I’m really sorry if this—if I ruined your life. I want you to be happy. I want you to be happy with your body and your life. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, just say the word.”
The intensity of that gaze did things to him. Horrible things.
Swallowing, Michael shook his head. “It’s not really your fault, any more than it was mine. I’m not angry anymore.”
Anthony smiled. “You’re too nice for your own good, you know,” he said, brushing his knuckles against Michael’s scent gland. “You’ve always been a bit too nice for an alpha. But I’m definitely not complaining.” He peered into Michael’s eyes. “You will not avoid me anymore.” It was a question, though it sounded more like a statement. A very presumptuous one. “We’ve been friends for years, Michael,” he said roughly. “I don’t want to lose you—your friendship. Tell me I won’t.”
It was a terrible idea. Friends didn’t do what they’d done a few minutes ago.
If he wanted people to believe that he was still an alpha, he couldn’t be around an alpha who made him wet just by looking at him. It was a recipe for disaster. His scent-blocker was good, but it wasn’t that good.
And yet.
He was weak for those blue eyes, for the way they looked at him intently, as though there was nothing else in the world. He’d missed him. Missed the way his presence filled his personal space, the way his gaze pinned him, as if nothing else existed for him, the way Anthony made him feel: safe and right, as though everything in the world was exactly where it should be.
Michael found himself nodding.
His eyes flashing with triumph, Anthony pulled him into a hug.
It was probably supposed to be a brief, manly hug, perfectly appropriate for friends, but the moment Anthony’s arms wrapped around him, Michael’s body went boneless. He buried his nose against Anthony’s throat, something like a whimper leaving his lips as he squirmed closer to his—to the alpha.
Anthony went still for a moment, before relaxing. “Of course,” he said breathlessly, stroking Michael’s hair. “You need to scent an alpha now. You need an alpha’s comfort.”
“I don’t,” Michael muttered, his face burning.
“Don’t be stupid, of course you do. It’s simple biology. All omegas need to scent and be scent-marked by their alpha—either their family alpha or their mate. You don’t have a family alpha—or a mate. You’re scent-starved, Mike.”
