VEXAROKNestled safely in my embrace, the omega breathed slow and even.

  I did not know when, but at some point during the night, Rolec had twisted toward me. My arm was pinned gently beneath his head, the other draped over him like a second bnket. The actual covers had become lost between us, and the shirt I had given him to wear was spread wide and hiked too high, revealing most everything.

  In this way, he was very easy to appreciate.

  His legs were long, and his feet were soft and tender. At only a gnce, I knew that he had used them rarely. Not for walking and most certainly not for climbing. They were free of rough calluses and marks. Was that why he kept them wrapped in cloth and hide? To guard his sensitive soles?

  The silent observation reinforced my earlier thoughts; it was yet another sign of his imprisonment at the hands of the dakmu. It also went a ways to expin why the omega seemed to enjoy pacing the length of the hollow in my absence. Rolec had been given few opportunities to move about as he pleased. The hollow was small, but I was convinced that it was an improvement on wherever the dakmu had previously kept him.

  My gaze wandered up the length of his legs, catching on his waist. It was thin, like the rest of him. He had none of the muscles I did. Carefully, I traced my fingers along his side, across the bruise that lingered there. Beneath the skin, I could feel his ribs. There was nothing to protect him or keep him warm. I could easily understand why he seemed always to be cold.

  My fingers continued to move, following the edge of the bruise. Rolec twitched, and my hand grew still. I lifted my eyes to look upon his face, expecting the omega to be staring back at me. Yet still he slept. He slept through my return, my joining him in the furs, and even my gentle touch now. It nced that same, familiar concern through me.

  My lips pressed into a tight line, my ears ying ft.

  Rolec left himself too unguarded.

  I told myself it was likely from exhaustion, or years spent in confinement. But in the back of my mind, a thought gently touched.

  Could it not also be possible that he slept so soundly because he had found a protector in me?

  The thought — the hope — momentarily drove back the fear, and I found that I wanted it to be true. I wanted him to need me. To desire my company. I wanted him to long for my touch, not recoil from it as he had first done. To recognize the pull of our emerging bond. Even without a physical mark, I could feel the stirrings of it within my chest; the growing link between us.

  Or was that too my wishful thinking?

  I reached for the bnket, hauling it up to grant him more cover. I had stolen too many looks already, and it — along with his rousing scent — was having an affect on me.

  A discouraged rumble started in my chest, desire sinking deep and low in my guts. I was growing stiff, straining against the cloth of my trousers. I could feel Rolec's heat through the bnket. It was so tantalizingly close, yet that thin material felt like a vast rift. One I knew I could not cross without his invitation.

  I rolled onto my back with a frustrated grunt, my arm still pinned beneath the omega's head. It would take no effort to wrench it free, but I did not wish to disturb his rest. A good alpha, I told myself, would allow his mate to sleep comfortably. Instead, I clenched my eyes shut, willing my straining length to settle through thought alone.

  It did not work, yet I continued to try all the same.

  Until Rolec shifted.

  The omega stretched out to his full length and then rolled over. He curled into himself and morphed into the same, diminutive ball in which I had first discovered him.

  Mercifully, I was freed. I crawled silently from the furs, crossing to the opposite end of the hollow and pushed beyond the vines. In an instant, I was bathed in morning light, the daystar having burned away any traces of night. I spared it only a gnce before moving through the tree and finding a far branch on which to settle.

  I had my trousers unced and my cock in hand before even my tail was wrapped for security.

  Pre-cum drooled heavily from the tip and along the sides, the thick musk of it hitting my nose. I spread it over my palm, rubbing hard at the head, then made a fist and took to punishing my rigid length. With a growl, my hips tipped upward, driving myself hard and fast into the slippery heat. My grip was tight, twisting. It slid from tip to base and up again. Ridges and knobs both bumped against my calloused palm, drawing a frustrated hiss from my throat as I sought to take my pleasure.

  I was no stranger to the act. Often — too often — I had brought myself to simir release. Yet somehow, this was different.

  Beneath my own needy musk, I could still smell Rolec. I could feel his lingering warmth against my skin, and I could see clearly his beautiful face behind my lids. More than anything in my life, I wanted him. I wanted the omega to desire me as I desired him; as a bondmate.

  Soon, my other hand joined the first, palming the head and smearing more of my slick heat. My cock jerked when I dropped to the base, teasing and coaxing at the balmy knot. It swelled with my racing pulse. In rhythm, hands and hips rocked, building closer toward my eager release.

  My rolls grew uneven. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, holding Rolec front and center in my mind. A low groan passed my lips, the rush of sensation sparking white-hot as my sac tightened. Then it was loosed, long and thick across my hands and the bark of the tree where I perched. I bucked into the tight passage of my fist, milking my knot as another heavy rope sprung from my leaping cock.

  I pumped until finally the whole length sagged, drained completely.