Omega Teacher’s Secret

on his lips.
“What’d you get?” Gwen asked, craning her neck.
“Gloves,” Ian said, still awestruck.
“Oh.” Gwen frowned. She turned back to her fire truck, placing it on top of her rainbow truck. “I like mine better. Look, Daddy, it’s piggybacking!”
Ian looked, smiling. “What do you say to Brad?”
“Thank you,” Gwen said, beaming.
“You’re welcome,” Brad said. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas!” Gwen bounced.
“Now, it’s getting late, so go brush your teeth and get ready for bed,” Ian said. “I’ll be there soon.”
Gwen huffed, disgruntled. “Can I bring my trucks with me?”
“Sure.”
Cheering, Gwen pushed her truck across the living room, into the bedroom. Then the door shut, and Ian sagged.
“She’s a bright kid,” Brad murmured, touching Ian’s waist.
Ian leaned into him. “She is. I’m glad I kept her.”
“Just like you’re keeping this next one?” Brad asked. He touched Ian’s belly, feeling him shiver.
“Yeah,” Ian breathed. “We shouldn’t—”
“There’s no one here,” Brad whispered. He paused for a moment to look into Ian’s eyes, the deep blue of them, and the desire that lay within.
The blinds had been shut, and the only sounds came from the bedroom, where Gwen puttered around.
“Brad, I—”
Brad leaned in, meshing their mouths together. Ian moaned. “Merry Christmas,” Brad murmured against his lips, reaching down. He found Ian’s half-hard cock through his pants, squeezing it. Ian hissed; his hips rocked forward. Brad kissed him again. “I promised to show you some duck prep.”
“I’m the one owing you,” Ian gasped, reaching for Brad’s cock.
Brad caught his hand. “If you want to owe me anything, then give me some answers.”
Ian hesitated.
Brad leaned away, slipping his fingers into Ian’s wispy hair. Then he touched Ian’s belly. “The baby—is it mine?”
Ian bit his lip. “It shouldn’t matter to you.”
“I told you, I wanted to know if another alpha has a claim on you.” Brad kissed Ian’s cheek. “So I can have you.”
Ian looked doubtful. “Even if I’m pregnant? And have a daughter?”
Brad paused. Ian turned away, his eyes downcast. Brad caught his arm. “Ian. Tell me. Who else did you spend your heat with?”
“What if I said it’s someone else’s?” Ian asked.
Jealousy snarled through Brad’s chest. He bared his teeth. “That’s the truth?”
Ian hesitated again, and Brad had the sneaking feeling that maybe Ian was lying, like how he’d tried to cover up those scars on his hips.
“You lie a lot,” Brad murmured, watching his professor.
“And you shouldn’t care.”
“I do.”
“Why?” Ian looked up, his eyes burning. “I don’t have anything to offer you, Brad. Everything I have, a younger omega has, too. You don’t need to be tied down to a child, or people in debt, or—”
“Not true.” Brad pressed their foreheads together, breathing in rose and honey. “I want to be there for you.”
“Why—”
“Because you aren’t like the other omegas, okay?” Brad growled. “Because no one takes me seriously when I say there’s kids I lost on the job. I tried dating. I tried talking to those people, and they—they don’t understand what it’s like to see the bones of the people you failed.”
Brad felt raw, after that. Like he’d exposed bits of himself to Ian, and Ian could stab him where he hurt most.
Ian sucked in a sharp breath.
And now Brad’s shame burned from inside him, and he half-regretted telling Ian all that.
Ian reached up, touching Brad’s face. “Does that weigh on you?”
Brad swallowed. “Yeah.” He looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just… said it so you’d understand. I’m not looking for someone younger.”
With those deaths… he felt like he was someone flawed. And maybe he saw the same in Ian. Felt that Ian, vulnerable as he was, would understand Brad, too.
Ian stared solemnly at Brad, cradling his face. “I’m sorry that’s happened to you,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t have to see that.”
“Not like I can go back to change it,” Brad said.
Ian dipped his chin, acknowledging it. And maybe this was something Brad had been looking for—someone who had seen things, and who wouldn’t brush off his past.
“What do I do to help?” Ian asked.
Brad huffed. “Ever the teacher, aren’t you? You give so much of yourself to everyone else, but you don’t take care of you.”
He pressed his palm to Ian’s chest, felt the thump of his heart. Ian looked away, his cheeks dark. “I do sleep enough and all that.”
“But there’s this, too,” Brad said. Touched Ian’s thigh, where he’d seen the scars. Ian leaned away.
“I’m not… not comfortable with you seeing those,” he said.
“Why? Because you think I’ll judge you?”
Ian rolled his shoulders. “Some people say I’m not fit to be a dad if I hurt myself.”
That had occurred to Brad, too. But Gwen seemed happy with Ian, she seemed entirely at ease. If Ian hurt himself… at least it didn’t extend to Gwen, too.
“You don’t hurt her,” Brad said.
Ian’s eyes flashed. “Of course I don’t. She doesn’t know about this.”
It made sense that he’d keep it a secret. Brad caught Ian’s chin, tipping his face up so their eyes met. “What other secrets are you keeping from me?”
“Too many.” Ian chuckled, hugging himself. He was still wearing those kid gloves, but it felt like he was trying to hide everything from Brad.
So Brad caught Ian’s wrist, pulling off one glove, then the other. He touched the bare skin of Ian’s hands, raised them to his own lips, pressing a kiss to his palms.
“What’re you doing?” Ian whispered.
“Prepping your duck.” Brad smirked. He took Ian’s thumb into his mouth and sucked on it, soft and slow.
Ian’s mouth fell open. His chest heaved, and Brad swirled his tongue around Ian’s thumb, then let it slip out of his mouth. He licked between Ian’s thumb and index finger, then up to his fingertip, and sucked that into his mouth.
Ian’s breath rushed out of him. “Brad—”
Brad hollowed his cheeks. Dragged his lips along Ian’s finger, letting his teeth graze Ian’s skin. Musk coiled from Ian; no doubt he imagined Brad’s mouth lower, on his cock.
“Want more?” Brad whispered, his breath puffing onto Ian’s hand.
Ian gulped. Glanced at the bedroom door.