Illicit (The Wrong Alpha 3)

Blue eyes seared him.

Liam shivered, his mouth going dry. He had a strange urge to reach out and grab Anthony’s hand on the table. Or crawl into his lap and press himself against him.

He’d never experienced the post-heat neediness he’d heard of from other omegas, but now he wondered if this was what they had meant.

“Yes, under my care,” Anthony said.

Under your care or under you? Liam had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying it. The thing was, he was mild-tempered ninety percent of the time, but if something pissed him off, he tended to be vicious. And Anthony’s inscrutable expression infuriated him. What was he playing at? Why did he act this way, as if they hadn’t had sex—twice?

Liam tried to put himself in Anthony’s shoes. Maybe he felt as guilty and sickened as Liam felt, and pretending it had never happened was just his way of dealing with it. It was possible. Except Liam couldn’t sense even a hint of revulsion from the alpha. As a Vos omega, Liam’s senses were duller than most, but they were still sharp enough to pick up strong negative emotions like revulsion. Negative feelings like that had a distinct scent—and he couldn’t smell it on Anthony.

Granted, Anthony had very tight control over his scent. Liam had never met an alpha who controlled his scent to such a degree. But still. Disgust and guilt weren’t emotions one could easily suppress.

“What objections can you possibly have?” Liam said, trying to keep his voice calm for the sake of their audience.

“You’re young, unmated omegas,” Anthony said, staring him down with his blue, blue eyes. “You can’t go to Faris on your own. But I can’t accompany you—business is keeping me here.”

Liam glared back at him. Despite his anger, the urge to grab Anthony’s hand wasn’t weakening at all. It was maddening. “Then tell Uncle to go with us—”

“Out of the question,” Anthony said, his scent thickening.

Liam sucked a breath in, feeling a little light-headed. The urge to touch Anthony, to crawl into his lap and feel him close, was becoming irresistible. He gripped his tea cup tighter. “You’re being unreasonable,” he said. “Uncle accompanied us to the capital last season. He’s perfectly capable of looking after us. Not that we need to be looked after.”

“Li is right,” Jules cut in.

Anthony didn’t even glance his way, his eyes still on Liam. “I said no. You’re not going anywhere. You will stay here, where I can—” He went silent, something shifting in his eyes. Wrenching his gaze away, he fixed it on his cup, his jaw working. “Fine,” he said at last. His voice sound strange. Tight. “Go to Faris. But not with Uncle. I’ll hire a chaperone for you. And bodyguards. At least four bodyguards.”

“That’s a bit overkill, but thanks,” Jules said.

Liam opened his mouth and closed it, not knowing what to say. He hated that part of him was disappointed that Anthony had acquiesced. Part of him didn’t want to leave—and that was exactly why he needed to get as far from here as possible. If he stayed, he’d end up taking his brother’s cock every night. He needed to get away from this man and the horrible, sickening effect he had on him.

“All right,” Liam said quietly, dropping his gaze.

It was going to be all right. He would go to Faris and finally come to his senses once he was away from Anthony. If he was lucky, he would find an alpha.

An alpha he was actually allowed to want.

Chapter 12

Liam had been in Faris for three days, and it already felt like it had been three months. Three excruciatingly long months. He felt so alone. Although Eric had come with them to the city, he barely left his room, lost in his computer and online friends. Jules was never around, either—he spent most of his time with his fiancé—and on the rare occasion they saw each other, Jules was distracted by the wedding planning. If he hadn’t been so distracted, he probably would have noticed how on edge Liam was feeling.

Only after arriving at Faris had Liam realized that there was a real possibility that there might be consequences of his heat.

Fuck, the mere thought… He didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility. He’d had unprotected sex with an alpha during his heat. He’d been knotted. Pumped full of an alpha’s seed. Anthony’s seed.

To his shame, the thought wasn’t entirely disgusting. There was a part of him—a sick, base part—that liked the idea very much, and it freaked him out. How could he find it appealing?

He’d been worried sick for days and only relaxed when the pregnancy test showed a negative result.

But it hadn’t been the only thing bothering him.

Every social function had been as much of a chore as he’d expected. In fact, it was worse. Since Liam didn’t have any relatives by his side, people didn’t even bother hiding their sneers and condescending remarks. Oh, he still had plenty of suitors, but even they treated him differently. There was something in their eyes, something like wariness. Liam didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what they must have been thinking: If Westcliff rejected him, he could be lacking something. He could be defective.