"When life is cruel to you, you just have to be cruel back," says Ex Tradings' CEO in exclusive interview.
An inside look at Darius Holt's reason for reclusiveness!
Light sifted in through the crack in the curtains, and Darius rolled over sleepily, a little pissed that the sunrise had woken him before his alarm. But all the anger and irritation faded away when his hand came to rest on Owen's stomach. He ran his hand lightly over the gentle curve shaping Owen's abdomen and smiled. Even though the child was not his, he felt possessive of it already. Anything that had to do with Owen dialed all his protective instincts up to eleven.
Owen muttered something in his sleep and shifted, turning onto his side. He did not sleep well most nights. Part of it was the pregnancy, but the other part, the part Owen would never say a word about, was the nightmares. Owen had horrible dreams.
Darius had no idea what would make someone scream in such pain and terror, but he knew enough about pieces of Owen's life to suspect his father and ex had done some messed up shit.
But right now, Owen was sleeping peacefully. The scent of his pheromones, tuberose he had said—a flower used in perfumes—wove through every molecule. It had taken work and weeks of convincing, but Owen had finally felt comfortable enough to take off the suppressing sticker and let his body breathe at night.
Darius did his best to contain himself, but the sweet, flowery scent always turned him on. He swallowed hard and forced his hand to move to Owen's back to avoid the temptation to touch Owen's bare skin. Sometimes Owen let him touch, and Darius always loved the soft perfection of Owen's stomach. It had been awkward the first few times with Owen unsure of his boundaries, but Darius kept holding back. He did not want to go too far and have Owen draw a line because of it.
Owen's brown eyes flickered open. He was so beautiful when he was vulnerable like this. "How long have you been staring at me?" he murmured.
Darius smiled and pulled him in to kiss his nose. "Only for a couple minutes."
Owen ducked his head beneath Darius' chin and sighed contentedly. "I want to go back to sleep."
Darius wrapped his arms around Owen's body. "Then sleep. I'm not going anywhere."
After a moment, Owen asked, "What time is it?"
Darius kissed the top of his head. "It doesn't matter. It's the weekend. Don't stress about it."
Owen frowned into Darius' collarbone. "What time is it, Darius?"
Darius glanced at the clock on the wall behind Owen. "8."
Owen made a sleepy sound of acknowledgment and slid his arms around Darius' waist. "Two more hours," he muttered, like it was a concession to himself.
Darius ran his fingers through Owen's slippery black hair, the smell of shampoo coating each strand. "Why not just sleep the whole day?"
Owen smirked. "You just want to keep touching me all day."
For a moment Darius panicked, but then he laughed it off. "What alpha doesn't want to hold his boyfriend?" He pulled Owen closer. "I don't ever want to let you go. My precious omega," he whispered in Owen's ear.
Owen shivered from the whisper, and Darius felt Owen's hips press toward him slightly.
Darius tried not to read into it. Instinct, he told himself. It's just instinct.He doesn't actually want me like that. Not yet. But his body was bound, set, and determined to read everything into that little motion. His whole body tightened and screamed with need. He tried not to think about it, but the harder he tried, the more he thought about it. His hand drifted down to Owen's lower back and pushed just a little bit as he kissed Owen's neck to distract him.
At the kiss, Owen's breath hitched, and he tipped his head aside, likely out of instinct, in an invitation for Darius to continue putting his lips there. He shivered at the next few kisses and whimpered when Darius sucked his skin into his mouth and gently bit down.
Darius pushed Owen's hips in and up and smirked at the even louder whimper that tore from Owen's lips. "Is this good?" he whispered, his voice low and husky in a way even he found attractive. He did the movement again, pulling another kitten-like sound out of Owen. "Did you need this?"
Owen gasped as Darius pried his thighs apart with his knee and repeated the grinding movement, this time pushing Owen up his thigh. Owen's hands clenched in Darius' tanktop. "Oh, god," he whimpered as Darius slowly increased his pace. His body moved with the rhythm Darius set, thighs tightening around Darius' leg to provide more friction.
"I read this can help with the nausea," Darius whispered. "Is it helping, baby?"
Owen's only answer was a desperate whimper.
Darius took his leg away, and Owen clawed for it back. "No, baby," he scolded softly. "You said the other day that I shouldn't do anything that took more than two minutes."
Owen was panting with desire, and his pheromones were everywhere. The glare he gave Darius was legendary. "You're evil."
Darius grinned. "I only do what I'm told."
"Aren't you an obedient little alpha?"
Darius laughed at the pure irritation in Owen's voice. He dropped his chin onto Owen's shoulder, settling it in the little hollow of Owen's collarbone. "It was nice, though, wasn't it?"
Owen laughed through his ragged breathing. "Nice might be underselling it." He paused and then added in a murmur, "My ex never touched me you know. He was too scared of my father to violate his perfect virgin son."
Darius did not move, even though he desperately wanted to see Owen's face. "This baby isn't your ex's?"
"No. I'm just as clueless as you when it comes to this kid's father. But I don't want to know." There was a hard resolution in Owen's tone. "Whoever he was, he was a jerk who's obviously made a habit out of jumping omegas. I don't want to know him, and I don't want my baby to know him either."
Darius lowered his lips to Owen's chest, pulling back the collar of the T-shirt, and kissed the hot skin. "Whatever you say is best for him."
Owen shook his head, a faint smile etched into his lips instead of that awful expression of secret pain he wore most of the time. "He? You're sure it's a boy?"
Darius shrugged. "Don't know. We won't be sure until you go see a doctor."
Owen's face tightened. "I'll enjoy the surprise."
Darius rubbed Owen's shoulder softly. "You don't have to hide, Owen. You're already past four months. Don't you think it might be time to get an expert's opinion?" He was not going to push if Owen refused, but he wanted to be reassured that both Owen and the baby were healthy.
Owen stared up at the ceiling, his eyes unfocused. "I hate doctors." Whatever experience had made him hate doctors had probably also sparked his fear of needles.
Darius pressed a light kiss to Owen's shoulder. "Do you want a home birth then, instead of going to the hospital?"
Owen's eyes shot down to Darius' face. "You're serious?"
Darius nodded. "Whatever makes you most comfortable. But I do want you to agree that if there's complications, you'll let me take you to the hospital."
Pain sprang into Owen's eyes, but he did nod in agreement. "Okay," he whispered in the most defeated voice Darius had heard him use.
"I just want you to be okay," Darius insisted. "I know you don't like anything to do with doctors or needles, so I want to keep you as far away from those things as I possibly can, but I have to consider your health and safety. Whatever happens, I'm going to do the best thing for you."
Owen sat up with a huff of laughter. "This feels really weird to talk about right after you just did…" At an obvious lack for words, he made a motion with his hand and finished, "whatever this was."
Darius laughed and, sitting up as well, pulled Owen into a tight hug. "You're amazing. Don't ever change."
After a moment, Owen dropped his chin down onto Darius' shoulder and relaxed into the embrace. "I'll try not to," he whispered.
Darius brushed his lips across Owen's temple. "And I'll make sure you never have to."