12. Midnight Heat

TWELVE

MIDNIGHT HEAT

Oliver shuddered as icy water engulfed him. Thankfully, the pond was just as deep as he remembered, otherwise he might have splattered his brains across the rough rocks beneath its surface. The koi carp were none too pleased by his arrival. Neither were the frogs, and fuck-a-duck the water tasted just as foul as last time. As the world grew quiet, he pondered momentarily if he might stay there forever, living like a merman beneath the murky surface. Housing was probably cheaper, taxes lower and— shit, was he losing the plot? A bolt of white hot pain shooting up his spine answered, yes —he had well and truly lost the plot that evening.

A hand on his forearm, and another around his waist hauled him out of the water with such speed, it took him several seconds to orient himself.

“Reed,” Lucas panted, a hand sliding to grip the back of his head.

Spluttering and gasping like a grounded fish, Oliver looked up as the alpha hunched over him. His sleeves were damp but the rest of him appeared dry, that was except the slick trail of blood trickling from his nose. Oliver growled, tilting his head forward in search of the three idiots who had attacked them.

“They’ve gone,” Lucas said, pulling him to his feet.

“ Cunts ,” Oliver spat, coughing a throatful of water onto the path. “Did you get a good look at them? Could you remember their faces? I bet there’s CCTV—ah!” He yelped, as the muscles spasmed across the backs of his thighs.

“I appreciate the thought,” Lucas said through clenched teeth. “But now is not the time to investigate.”

Although the dip in the pond had momentarily cleared his heat fuddled brain, Oliver started shaking—either from the freezing water or the almighty adrenaline dump. “S-Shit,” he shivered, as Lucas’ arm slipped around his waist once more.

“Come on, before they come back with friends,” Lucas said, tugging him forward.

“Wait!” Oliver cried, “Where’s the tiramisu?”

Lucas baulked, “Sorry?”

“T-The tiramisu. I had it in my hand as we were walking.”

“Reed, I really don’t think?—”

“Ah, there it is,” he said, snatching up the lunchbox as it teetered on the edge of the water. “This is the reason we’re in this mess. There’s no way we’re leaving it behind.”

“I don’t think the tiramisu is to blame here, Oliver,” Lucas replied, squeezing his hip and tucking him against his body. The momentary reprieve brought on by the cold shock was rapidly wearing off, and by the time they reached the car, steam was rolling off Oliver’s soaking wet body.

“You need to get out of these wet clothes,” Lucas uttered, chucking the box of tiramisu onto the roof of the car. He spun Oliver to face the passenger door, arms reaching around to unhook the buttons of his shirt.

“L-Lucas, stop. We’re going to get arrested for indecent exposure.”

Oliver’s resolve quickly fell away when Lucas tugged the shirt down his arms, un-popped the button of his jeans and peeled them down his legs. “Kick off your shoes,” he instructed.

And Oliver complied, because the way the alpha’s hands dragged over his body turned his legs to jelly. “Lucas—Luca,” he panted, pushing his hips back. Then the alpha began unbuttoning his own shirt, and Oliver could just picture the headlines— ‘High Enfield Exclusive! Police Officers Rutt in Shameless Display of Public Indecency!’ They’d be sacked. Worse, prosecuted . Christ, he could not go to prison. How the hell would he explain that to his parents?

But then Lucas was pulling his own shirt over Oliver’s head, the sleeves comically long and the hem almost reaching his knees. As he turned to face the alpha, he looked like a strange, pale-pink Victorian ghost, and was disgruntled to find Lucas looking rather pleased with himself.

“What?” Oliver huffed.

“Nothing.” Lucas smirked as he opened the door, ushering Oliver into the passenger seat. And thank God he’d been wearing a white vest underneath the shirt, otherwise Oliver may have expired there and then. It did nothing to hide the hard muscle of his shoulders—and those powerful arms could make all the knickers in High Enfield drop with just one flex.

Lucas practically ripped the door off the Yellow Peril as he dropped into the driver’s seat, then stabbed the key into the ignition and started the car. By some minor miracle, the engine turned over first time, and they were speeding out of the car park before it had a chance to change its mind.

“You alright?” Oliver asked, reaching across the gap to touch the tip of Lucas’ bleeding nose.

Lucas swallowed, his face visibly relaxing as they pulled out of town and onto the main road. “Yes,” he whispered, taking Oliver’s hand and kissing his palm.

The tiny gesture sent another shock of pain to Oliver’s groin, one that made his whole body shudder. Throwing his head back against the seat, he arched his spine and braced his bare, shaking legs on the dashboard. His boxers were growing wetter, either from sweat, the pond or… slick . He couldn’t tell.

Lucas gripped his wrist as they sped towards the motorway, covering his entire nose and mouth with Oliver’s hand. He inhaled so deeply, it was as though he were trying to suck the scent right out of his skin.

“Fuck!” Oliver cried. “Take the next left. It’ll take us down the back lanes.”

“Reed, the motorway is the most direct route.”

“Yes! But at the speed you’re driving, we’re going to hit every fucking speed camera on the M6. Please just take the next left.”

“I don’t give a shit about the speed cameras, Oliver. I’ll happily take the points if it means I get you home quicker.”

Oliver threw his head back, unable to stop the bark of laughter erupting from his mouth. “I appreciate that. I really do. But you're forgetting that those cameras send a photograph of the vehicle directly to the ticketing office.”

“And?”

“And I do not want sweet, little old Valerie in traffic to see me half-naked, with my legs up on the dashboard, writhing like a fucking snake! Take…the…next…LEFT!”

Lucas huffed out a laugh as he dropped Oliver’s hand, swinging the Yellow Peril off the main road and down the narrow lanes that would take them back to West Newton.

“Thank you,” Oliver said, around a relieved sigh.

Then they were both laughing. Why the fuck were they laughing in such a diabolical situation? As if to add insult to injury, the heavens chose that moment to void their watery bowels in a downpour of torrential rain.

“Oh good,” Oliver scowled as he glared up at the sky. “Don’t turn the windscreen wipers up to max. They have a habit of pinging off.”

Lucas shook his head. “Of course they do. Remind me again how this car is road legal?”

Oliver was about to give the alpha a lecture about exactly what classified a vehicle as being ‘road legal’ in the UK, but his body chose that moment to rip him a new arsehole.

Agony shredded his spine as though a vice were squeezing his hips and shattering his pelvis. He cried out, both hands reaching up to grip the headrest as his back arched off the seat. His legs shook uncontrollably, and before he could clench his body, thick slick gushed through his boxers and covered his thighs.

Lucas let out a low, guttural sound as he slammed on the brakes and swerved into the grassy verge. Suddenly, Oliver’s seat was thrown backwards, and he yelped as it tipped into full recline. Lucas straddled the passenger seat, pulling Oliver beneath him as he peeled off his vest. Rough hands gripped Oliver’s knees, pushing them back and towards his chest. And, shit , he really was about to be eaten alive, judging by the blackness of the alpha’s eyes.

“Oliver,” Lucas growled, nuzzling his face into the scent gland beneath Oliver’s ear. He reached up to unhook his hands from the head-rest, but Oliver was gripping it so tightly that not even alpha could pry them free.

“I’m scared, Lucas,” he whispered. The words were so quiet they were barely audible. “I’m scared.”

Lucas let out a breath and released his hands. The heat in his expression fell away as he gazed down at the sigma beneath him. “Of me?” He breathed.

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath. “N-No, not you.”

Lucas swallowed and cupped his face, thumbs tracing the clammy skin under his eyes. He peppered kisses across Oliver’s hairline, nose rubbing in the damp white-blonde tendrils. “Then what? Please, Reed. Tell me what you need.”

He needed to be at home. Needed the comfort of his bed, and his blankets, and his pillows. He needed the heat to stop.

“Of this,” he whispered, nose wrinkling as another excruciating wave washed over him. Lucas held him, rubbing little circles into his hips as he writhed. The weight of the alpha helped satiate some deep rooted instinct to be claimed, but soon it wouldn’t be enough.

“Of rutting? Of your heat?” Lucas asked, as the scorching pain subsided. He touched Oliver’s lips, his chin, his ears, as though he were the most fragile thing in the world.

Overwhelming shame washed over him, as he eventually said, “Yes.”

Lucas’ eyes softened as he bent down to press a tiny kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Oliver… have you never been knotted before?”

The question should have been embarrassing, like asking a teenager if they were a virgin. But the way Lucas’ breath shook as he exhaled against his temple made Oliver’s legs tremble even more.

“T-That’s not it,” he replied, cracking his eyes open. “I have… done that before. A long time ago. But it… it didn’t end well. As in… what happened afterwards.” The words came out stunted and awkward, but Oliver forced them through his teeth, anyway.

“He hurt you,” Lucas whispered, pressing their foreheads together. “Your mate.”

Oliver swallowed, his brows pinching together. “N-Not my mate, just?—”

Thunder rumbled through the clouds, making the Yellow Peril shudder. Oliver dropped his head, letting out a quiet whimper. Silence hung between them for a long moment, the only sound coming from the rain drumming against the car. Eventually, Lucas dropped his head to press a long, hard kiss to Oliver’s forehead.

“I will love you,” he whispered, pushing his face into Oliver’s neck. “God, I will cherish you, if you’ll let me.”

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, because he wanted to believe that with every fibre of his being. But the sharp knife of betrayal still twisted in his back with every breath he took. He wanted to wrench it out, to toss it into the abyss and give it a big old ‘fuck you.’ But he couldn’t. Not yet. He wanted to say as much when Lucas pried his hand off the head-rest.

Pushing himself onto his forearms, he took Oliver’s hand and pressed it flat to his chest, forcing him to feel the way it thrummed beneath his touch.

“I don’t know what happened to you,” Lucas began, voice pained. “Perhaps I’ll never know. But what I do know is that you bring light into this dark world. And that you, and you alone, make my heart race faster than a Lego fucking Ferrari.” That made Oliver smile, despite the anxiety stabbing his chest. “But,” Lucas continued. “I will never take more than you are willing to give. I’ll call your brother, I’ll wait outside and?—”

“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Oliver whispered, wrapping his arms around Lucas’ neck and pulling him into an open-mouthed kiss. Lucas sagged, the tension draining away as Oliver cradled him between his thighs.

“It’s been said,” he replied, but Oliver’s mouth swallowed the words.

There was a thunderclap just as another wave rolled through him, but that time, he wrapped his legs around the alpha’s waist and drew their hips together. Lucas nipped his lip, shoving the pink shirt up to expose Oliver’s sweaty skin. Oliver tipped his head back, soft gasps escaping his kiss-swollen lips as the alpha bent down to take his nipple between his teeth. He lifted his hips, allowing Lucas to peel down his soaking wet boxers which made his swollen cock slap painfully against his stomach.

“It hurts,” he whined, spreading his legs so one foot pressed against the foggy window, the other against the dashboard.

“I know, sweetheart.”

“P-Please, alpha—” Oliver whined, his last thread of self-control, snapping apart.

A low rumble shook through both their bodies, and Oliver couldn’t tell if it was from Lucas or the thunder. He cried out as Lucas reached between them, fingers circling his cock as he began stroking the engorged head. He wasn’t sure if it felt better or worse, overwhelmed by the maddening tingle of heat that made every inch of him itch. He needed release, and he needed it now. Bucking his hips, he ground his cock harder into Lucas’ hand.

“Easy,” the alpha whispered. “It’s alright.”

“P-Please, Lucas,” he whimpered, as Lucas ran his tongue across his navel. The dim moonlight cast incredible shapes across Lucas’ back, the shadows clinging to the dips and peaks of his toned body.

Oliver let out a strangled sound when the alpha finally pressed his lips to the tip of his cock, kissing and sucking the entirety of his length as he massaged his little knot with his fingertips.

“Ah!” Oliver cried, foot slipping along the condensated window. “F-Fuck—” He panted, as Lucas somehow folded himself into the footwell.

Gripping the backs of Oliver’s thighs, he pushed his knees to his chest and sank his face into the depths of his crease. Oliver’s cock pulsated as a stream of pearly seed pumped out, coating his stomach and dribbling onto the grey seat. Lucas purred, pressing his mouth against his balls, his undercarriage, and finally, his hole.Oliver keened as a rush of slick gushed out, coating the alpha’s chin and mouth.

“S-Sorry,” he panted, hands returning to grip the head-rest. He felt more than heard Lucas chuckle against his skin, as he lapped at his entrance, tasting his arousal and bathing in his scent. He wanted Lucas to crawl inside him, to possess him, to violate him in the deepest, most personal way imaginable.

When Lucas sank his fingers into his entrance, it felt as though the earth had been tipped on its axis and he couldn’t work out which way was up and which was down. His legs spasmed as the alpha’s fingers rubbed the long-forgotten gland within him, making his hole soften and his mouth hang open. He came long and hard onto Lucas’ fingers, body clamping around the alpha as if he were a prisoner of war.

Kissing and nipping his thighs, Lucas waited for the shuddering orgasm to quiet before withdrawing his fingers. Slick poured from him, and God help the ancient grey seat because only holy water could save it from those stains.

Then Lucas was above him, bearing down on him like a wolf would a lamb. “Come here,” Oliver whispered, drawing the alpha’s wet lips to his own. He mewled as Lucas’ fangs slid to his neck, grazing the network of tendons and ridges. His teeth practically gnashed against Oliver’s throat, a silent and desperate request to please, please let him bite—let him claim. But Oliver let out a ragged breath as he shoved the alpha back, his inner wolf snapping defensively for the briefest of moments, before dropping to its belly with a whimper. “ Not now, not yet.” Oliver’s sandy wolf whispered across the bond. “ Too much, too soon, not ready.”

It was a gamble, because Lucas could well have bitten him in that moment. A temporary reprieve on the alpha’s part, but it would have soured any future bond they shared. So, with a quiet whine, Lucas dropped his head and relented.

Oliver huffed, popping open Lucas’ trousers. The alpha let out a relieved groan as his cock sprang free, pressing it against Oliver’s thigh.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Reed,” Lucas said, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

Oliver glanced down, locking eyes on the thick cock pressing into the back of his leg. It was long and beautifully proportioned, with a slight curve at the tip. Dark pubic hair crowned the emerging knot, and continued up the alpha’s stomach in a thin trail. And as Oliver ran his hand over Lucas’ abdomen, he realised—yes, yes that was a fucking belly button piercing intersecting his navel.

He would have said something witty about men with hidden piercings, but Lucas silenced his thoughts with an impatient kiss. With that, Oliver reached between them and took hold of the alpha’s length. It was far, far more engorged than his own, and the knot at the base felt painfully hot.

“Oliver,” Lucas whispered, kissing his temple. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

In response, Oliver moaned and wriggled his hips into a more comfortable position. The alpha’s nostrils flared as he gripped his slim waist with both hands and pulled his arse flush with his groin. Without another word, Oliver guided Lucas to his entrance. The blunt head of his cock pressed on the wet ring of muscle, and after a moment of resistance Lucas sunk inside him all the way to the hilt.

Relief. Sheer fucking relief washed over Oliver as the open void within him finally had something to hold onto. Lucas’ breath tickled his face, the heat, the want, the need of their bodies enveloping them both. The intimacy was almost frightening, or would have been were it not for the alpha’s thumb stroking his cheek.

Then another clap of thunder rumbled the sky, and suddenly Lucas was moving, then snarling as he planted one hand on the centre console, the other roughly bruising Oliver’s hip. The sigma welcomed the roughness, he was tired of tiptoeing around their desire. They were there, together, in that moment, and no one would stop the rut that had been hanging between them since the day they met. He threw his hips up, hooking his knees over Lucas’ elbows in a shameless need to feel the alpha deeper within him. Lucas obliged, rolling his hips forward so that his balls slapped his arse cheeks.

“Ah… Ngh,” Oliver moaned, as stars burst across his vision at how the alpha’s cock rubbed his insides with every thrust. Pressure grew in his lower back, as the relentless pounding made another wave of slick coat his insides. Lucas clenched his teeth, his thrusts becoming wild and erratic as he bore down on Oliver without mercy.

“Reed…Oliver…Baby. I’m going to—” The alpha panted.

“Yes,” Oliver hissed, letting his knees slip from Lucas’ arms to his waist, drawing their bodies together. He threw his head back as the alpha’s knot sunk inside him. A momentary jolt of pain, followed by a breathtaking sense of relief. He came hard, as Lucas’ seed spilled deep within him, filling him until there was no question of who had claimed him.

The alpha rocked his hips against Oliver’s arse, his knot tugging and pressing against the tight ring of muscle keeping him inside. It sent tiny tremors of pleasure shooting down Oliver’s legs, and he wrapped his arms so tightly around Lucas’ neck, that it was a wonder he could move at all. He never wanted it to end—the gentle give and take as the alpha pulsed within him, until the heat of climax burned down into glowing embers.

For Oliver, his heat had never contained laughter and pleasure in equal measure. When Patrick knotted him, there’d been nothing but dread and self-loathing. But there, in the sun- set yellow Citroen, he felt safe—in spite of the storm that raged outside.

Neither spoke as Lucas pressed his ear to Oliver’s chest, and in return, Oliver ran his fingers through the alpha’s sweat-damp hair, marvelling at how soft it was to the touch.

“I meant it, you know?” Lucas whispered, pressing a kiss to Oliver’s sternum.

Oliver let out a breathy laugh. “Which bit? You’ve said a lot of embarrassing things in the last twenty-four hours.”

Lucas sighed, leaning up to nip Oliver’s lip. “All of it.”