Because I Want To - Grace R. Duncan Page 0,5

again, Adam wasn’t usually up for company, anyway. That didn’t change the fact that he didn’t like being alone. He wished often that Matt could stay, though he’d bite his tongue it two before he admitted that out loud.

In fact, since he still lived with his parents—they’d only just graduated high school—his own stepfather left the house for the time of Adam’s heat. His aunt on his mom’s side kept a bedroom for them just for the purpose. It made things a lot simpler. Adam often felt bad that they left instead of him, but there wasn’t another safe place that Adam knew of for him to be.

Growing up, he’d always thought he and Matt would end up together. In the innocence of childhood, they’d insisted they would get married when they grew up, and neither set of parents had tried to convince them otherwise. Looking back, Adam figured their parents were guessed they had alpha and omega natures and assumed they’d be compatible as a bonded pair.

Adam finally finished the sandwich and opened the bottle of water. While he drank, he picked up the remote control and flipped through stations until he found an old Hitchcock movie. They weren’t his favorites. He still got creeped out if too many birds gathered in one place, and he refused to watch Psycho because he didn’t want to have to take baths for the rest of his life. But he’d seen bits of this one before, and Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly were certainly good actors.

Rear Window helped get Adam’s mind off things for a little while. It helped that he couldn’t pause the movie, so he managed to actively watch through the whole thing. By the time the credits were rolling, however, the itch was already starting to come back. Checking the clock, Adam groaned when he realized he still had another couple of hours before he could take his medicine.

Resigning himself to a serious masturbation session, Adam settled back onto the bed. He had plenty of his own natural lubrication, but when it came to stroking his dick, having extra never hurt. He popped the cap and poured some lube into his hand, then tossed the bottle aside.

Closing his eyes, he let himself imagine Matt’s naked body, the feel of Matt’s thick cock filling him. He indulged himself in fantasies of that dick belonging to him. It was something he could let himself pretend in times like this. He’d never tell Matt about it, though. That would only give Matt more reason to push for them to pair, so he’d keep it to himself.

Because Adam’s fears of tying his best friend to him—no, trapping that best friend, a best friend who didn’t love him the way a bonded mate should—wouldn’t go away. He couldn’t bring himself to want anyone else either. So the best thing he could do would be to keep up with the Sepel and give Matt what he could, what Matt would want: his body.

Since he didn’t want Adam’s heart.

Chapter 3

Matt chuckled at the text message from Adam, telling him not to come. Matt wouldn’t listen—hadn’t up until then—but Adam would try anyway. Matt didn’t quite understand Adam’s hesitation—after all the time they’d been together, Matt wasn’t sure he could leave Adam alone for his heat—but Adam tried, every time. Matt was also equally positive Adam didn’t really want to be left alone either. The hesitation Adam kept showing undoubtedly came from a misplaced sense of guilt for “making” Matt help him or something equally ludicrous.

Matt didn’t bother replying to the message. Instead, he shoved his phone into his pocket and headed to the employee room to collect his backpack.

His manager, Daniel, was in the corner, a cup of coffee in front of him at the break table. “Is it that time already?” Daniel asked, squinting down at his phone.

Matt chuckled. “Yeah. Maybe you should, you know, drink that coffee instead of letting it get cold. The caffeine might, you know, help.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Har, har. You’re so funny.” He shook his head. “Actually, I think this might be cup number… six? Or seven? I don’t know—I lost count. Any more than this and I think I reach nirvana.”

That brought a full laugh from Matt. “So… what you’re saying is—”

“It’s long since stopped working for me.” Daniel sighed. “Guess I gotta get back out there since you’re abandoning me.”

Matt was the one to roll his eyes this time. “Yes, because Tina, Michelle, and Mark aren’t enough