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Selling your omega child to the highest bidder was the sort of thing it was gauche to admit you did in public. That didn't mean it didn't happen.
Buck knew it was coming for him. He'd watched his parents try to sell Maddie out from underneath Doug, only for her to run away to mate with him in the middle of the night. There would be no rescue—if that was what Doug had done for Maddie, and Buck had his doubts about that—for him.
He knew very few details about the alpha he was meant to be mating with in just under twelve hours. He was older, much older. It was a second mating, with no interest in children, so it wouldn’t matter if Buck was struck with the dual infertility possible for male omegas. His parents must have been thrilled by that when they heard. He'd been the useless one for his whole life. They were lucky to have found a man to fob him off on and, even better, one who lived all the way across the country.
Some parents would want to keep their children close, to make sure they wouldn't be mistreated in their new lives. Or so that they could visit occasionally. Buck was under no illusions Margaret and Phillip Buckley were that sort of parents.
His mating was to be brief, not brutal.
Not very brutal.
Well, hopefully it wouldn't be too brutal.
Buck wasn't sheltered or stupid. He'd had his fair share of sex. But he'd never been bitten. And he didn't want to be.
The morning of the mating dawned cool and quiet, Buck trapped alone in the hotel room even Courtyard Marriotts kept for just this purpose. The door could only be opened from the outside. The only window was too high for even Buck to reach and narrower than his shoulders. In the event of a fire, he'd be fucked.
There was no knock. No warning. One minute, Buck was alone and glaring at the wall, furious with his fate. The next, there was an alpha in the room. He shut the door primly behind him.
This strange alpha—Robert Nash, Buck's alpha—was nondescript. Comfortably middle aged, with the body to match. His hair a dull brown, greying at the temples. His hairline had probably receded from what it was when he was Buck's age. He squinted at Buck, just a little, like maybe he needed glasses but was still putting off admitting that to himself. He wasn't handsome, not the sort of man who would've turned Buck's head if he had a choice. He looked like a professor or something. And Buck never did get along with professors.
“Hello, Evan,” Robert Nash said. His voice was deep, his tone soft and welcoming. Buck wasn't fooled. He knew what sort of man this was.
“Buck,” he corrected, and then he flinched. He was going to be whoever this man wants him to be from this day forward. And his name wouldn't even be Evan Buckley anymore. There wouldn’t be anything to get the Buck from.
“Buck,” Robert corrected. He nodded once, like he'd decided something. “Then you should call me Bobby.”
Bobby was far too gentle a name for this man. Buck was never in the habit of hanging out with dangerous people, so he had no real reason for his instincts to be screaming this—well, okay, he had a reason, but he was trying not to think about that—but he was nearly certain Bobby could hurt him if he wanted. It didn't matter how strong Buck was, how hard he’d worked to build muscle. This man was capable of harming him.
He stepped closer to Buck. Buck's choices were limited. He could give in—and that was a nonstarter. He could fight. He would probably fight. Or he could try and reason with Bobby? He seemed like a reasonable man.
“Bobby,” Buck said finally, giving the name weight and heft on his tongue. “You don't have to—”
“I do,” Bobby said gently. Regretfully. “I know what kind of omega you are, Buck.”
Buck bristled. “Whatever they told you—”
“I saw you yesterday morning.” Bobby took yet another step closer. Buck froze, because he knew damn well what he was doing yesterday morning. Or, more aptly, who. “I thought we should try to meet before the mating. Introduce ourselves, so your first impression of me wouldn't be my teeth in your neck. But you were too busy. Another omega, I could've forgiven. A beta, I could have understood. But you let another alpha take you less than a day before you were supposed to be mine.”
Buck didn't think he'd ever find out about that.
“Your parents mentioned you were promiscuous.” Bobby chuckled and shook his head. “I don't think any warning could've prepared me for this. I'm not mad, Buck. But I'm not going to let you go wandering and bring home someone else's pups. Do you understand?”
Yeah. Buck got it. He snarled all the same, his lip curling up. Bobby simply smiled at the display.
“Do you understand?” he asked again.
Buck didn't answer.
The next step Bobby took brought him right up to Buck. Close enough to grab. Bobby's hand was warm. It would've been comforting in any other circumstance. He held the back of Buck's neck firmly, but he didn't press down enough to hurt. “Do you understand, Buck?”
Buck did. Of course he did. But he wasn't going to say that. He kept his mouth stubbornly closed. Bobby put pressure on his neck until Buck bowed under the strain. Bobby was strong.
“That's okay.” His voice was still so maddeningly gentle. “I'll make you understand. First, I’m going to bite you. And then, once you’re mine, I’m going to fuck you so if you do get pregnant, it'll be with my pup.”
Hearing it laid out so clinically didn’t make Buck feel good about this. But, to be fair, nothing would.
Bobby didn’t wait for Buck’s agreement. Wise, since Buck wouldn’t ever give in. He shoved Buck back against the wall. It was painted white, the most boring color possible. This whole room was so devoid of personality. And it was where Buck was going to lose his freedom.
He wasn’t a monk, or straight. Bobby’s show of strength, the shove, it sent a thrill through Buck. He shivered under the rough treatment. Having Bobby this close was intoxicating. They’d only just met, but now that Bobby was close enough to sniff, Buck wanted to melt for him. Bobby smelled spicy, like chili powder, and safe. He smelled like how it felt when Buck climbed into bed at the end of a long day.
He tilted Buck's neck, angling it to make the bite easy. Without any further preamble, Bobby bit down.
The pain hit first, a sharp ache like being sliced open by a blade. Buck wanted to yank away, wanted to curl up and protect himself from this intrusion. And then the bond made itself known, working through his bloodstream and his nervous system. It was a spreading warmth, close to burning but not quite hurting. Buck went limp and boneless in the face of it, reduced to letting Bobby take his bodyweight.
Bobby held him up like it was nothing, even though Buck wasn't a light man. When he came back to himself, he was still pressed up against the wall, but now Bobby's arms were a comfort, his support rather than his prison.
The bond thrummed in his body. Mine, his bones sang at the sight of Bobby there, so patient and caring just for Buck. His Bobby, his mate, all Buck's.
“There you are,” Bobby whispered. “Good boy.”
Buck was a good boy. He was Bobby's good boy. Slowly, he leaned in and tucked his nose into Bobby's neck. He nuzzled him, memorizing his mate’s scent.
His stomach turned. Buck’s mind rebelled. He didn't want this, didn't want this man or this life.
Bobby didn't seem to notice the internal war Buck was waging, or if he did, he didn't care. He led Buck to the bed.
He stripped Buck like he was unwrapping a present. And maybe he was. But Buck didn't feel like a gift. Bobby unbuttoned his shirt, slowly baring his tattoos, his pecs, his soft stomach. He made quick work of Buck's pants as well, leaving him clad only in his boxer briefs. Bobby stepped back to take him in.
Buck didn't want to preen for this man, but he did look good. He wasn't afraid to admit that. His shoulders were broad, tapering to a narrower waist. He didn't skip leg day, and his thighs showed it. His hair was short and gelled in a way a girl had once called, “hot, for a fuck boy omega.” A compliment was a compliment, Buck figured, even if it was an imperfect one.
Bobby started to unbutton his own shirt, giving Buck a tantalizing peek of his chest hair.
“I don't need to prep you, do I? You know what to expect. You've even taken a knot before.”
And Buck wouldn't apologize for it. He hadn't picked Bobby. He didn't owe him fidelity or virginity or whatever else.
Bobby must have read his mind, because he said, “I don’t care about your past, Buck. I can forgive the way you’ve disrespected yourself, so long as you don’t do it to our relationship. All I’m concerned with is your future—our future.”
“Why did you want me, anyway?” Buck didn’t mean to ask it, but that wasn’t the same thing as regretting that he had.
Bobby paused on a button midway down his chest to contemplate his answer. When he spoke, his voice was distant, his mind far away. “I spent a long time not living my life, not really. I wanted to give it up. I’m Catholic—I know you’re not religious, it’s not a problem, but it’s hard to explain the way religious tenets become a part of you. I thought suicide was a step too far, but if I gave my life up saving someone else, then no one could blame me for that. And then I had a friend—you’ll meet Chimney—who showed me that wasn’t true. And that I had so much more to give the world. So I thought I should find someone to care about. Someone I could need.”
Buck hummed. He understood that. Wanting to be needed.
“I signed up for a dating profile first,” Bobby continued. “But then I heard about the site your parents used. We had a call—an older woman who was losing her memory went missing, and her daughter used it. And I saw your face, right there in her apartment, and I knew I had to have you. I reached out to your parents in the engine. You were mine before my shift ended.”
It didn’t sound romantic. But it wasn’t such a bad story, as far as these things went.
He wished it wasn't his.
Well, he did appreciate being hot enough that a man saw one picture of him and flew across the country. Buck had done weirder things for dick, and much, much weirder things for pussy, but it was gratifying to be on this end of things for once.
Buck shook his head, both to dismiss the thoughts of previous partners and to disagree with Bobby. “I wasn't. Not until today.”
Bobby took him in. Buck wondered what he saw when he looked down at Buck, splayed out and waiting for Bobby. He'd won his prize. Wasn't he going to hurry up and get the whole claiming it thing over with?
“You weren't,” Bobby agreed after a long pause. “But you are now.”
“You're going to take me with you to cook and clean and play the perfect little omega.” Buck scoffed at the idea.
“I cook,” Bobby said. “If I wanted a stereotype, I'd have picked anyone else. Hell, I already did pick someone else. You can do whatever you want with your time, as long as it's productive. You can even be a firefighter, if you want.”
Buck perked up at that. No one had ever believed he could be anything before. “Really?”
“Anything you want,” Bobby promised. Then he paused. “Within reason. We'll talk about it.”
“Firefighter,” Buck said. “I want to be a firefighter.”
Bobby smiled. It transformed his face. He looked approachable like this, as if he was someone Buck could trust. Maybe even someone Buck could bring himself to love eventually. Not yet. But maybe one day.
Bobby went back to his buttons. “We'll figure it out, Buck. But we need to finish the mating first.”
Buck should've said no. He knew Bobby was strong, but maybe he could fight.
But what would he be fighting for? The chance to go back to living as a burden on his parents? Living in that silent house where he'd never been loved or appreciated?
He wasn't going to like living with Bobby. But could it be worse than what he was leaving behind?
He could close his eyes and lie back and think of Shakespeare, or whatever it was they'd told the omega girls (and Buck) to do in middle school sex ed. Once the mating was complete, he'd be stuck—or safe. But it would be better than where he'd been for years. Wouldn't it? And Buck never had any luck at finding someone who would want him for him before.
“You want me,” he said, testing out the idea.
Bobby's eyes softened. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it away. “Yeah, kid. I want you.”
The evidence was tenting Bobby's pants. Buck wanted to get his mouth on it. Bobby didn't give him the opportunity. Once he'd stripped his pants and underwear off, he sat on the bed next to Buck.
Bobby pulled Buck in for a kiss with a hand on the back of his head. He kissed Buck like something precious. If Buck closed his eyes, he could almost convince himself that he wanted this, that he'd chosen it. The bond was still strong in him, his body craving Bobby's touch. Buck couldn't tell where he ended and the bonding magic began.
Bobby laid Buck back, bracketing him with his body. He was a heavy weight. Buck wanted to squirm free. Wanted to toss Bobby off of him. But his body wouldn't obey. He was trapped, his mind rebelling but his body and the bond keeping him right where his mate wanted him.
Bobby knew what he was doing with Buck's body. He moved on from his lips, kissing his way down his jawline to his neck. Bobby paused over the mark he'd left. Buck could feel it. When Bobby pressed his lips to it, Buck's whole body sung.
Buck writhed. He needed Bobby in him. “I want—I need to bite you, Bobby, please.”
Bobby ignored him. He kept working his way down Buck's body until he reached his boxer briefs. Bobby didn't slip them over Buck's hips and down his legs. Instead, he ripped them off like the fabric was nothing and tossed them over his shoulder.
He took in Buck's cock and balls. “Damn, kid.”
Buck had seen enough dicks in his day to know he was big. Not just for an omega. For anyone.
“Later,” Bobby said, and it sounded an awful lot like a promise. He traced the rim of Buck’s hole, then dove in with two fingers. Bobby had been right to guess Buck wouldn’t need much prep. He was already stretched from all the alphas he’d taken since he’d found out he would be stuck with Bobby. And he was wet, his body craving Bobby, begging for his mate, even if Buck wasn’t.
When Bobby slid into him, the pleasure was indescribable. Sex had never felt like this. Bobby moved inside him perfectly, filling Buck like they were made for each other. Like he was the puzzle piece that’d been missing Buck’s whole life, and now that he was here, everything would be okay.
With Bobby inside him, thrusting, and one hand pumping Buck’s cock while the other supported his weight over Buck, he knew he wouldn’t last long.Buck wanted to drag it out. That wasn’t true. He never wanted this moment to end, this beautiful and perfect connection. He’d never wanted it to start, and he never wanted it to end, and he never wanted to be touched again, and he couldn’t imagine doing anything other than having sex with Bobby for the rest of his life. Not when it felt like this. Buck would be crazy to cultivate other hobbies.
Somehow, miraculously, he managed to hold on long enough for Bobby to come first. Bobby came, filling Buck’s ass. Buck shot off, coating both of their stomachs. Bobby didn’t pull out immediately. Instead, he offered his neck to Buck. It wasn’t required for the omega half of a mating to bite, and not every alpha would allow it.
It was Buck’s choice.
Buck bit.