“A lot can happen in seven years. You’ve hardly left the estate. You might find another alpha you like better than me.”
Zeller pursed his lips at Valentin’s defeated tone. Then he recalled the way they’d pressed against each other in his bedroom.
Valentin was intimidated by his parents’ power and influence, but Zeller wasn’t about to let him diminish their connection.
“I might be stuck in this old mansion, but I know how I feel when I look at you.” Zeller pictured the water dripping down the alpha’s chest his first day on the estate. “To be honest, I’m pretty sure meeting you is what started my bloom.”
Valentin clasped Zeller’s hands. “You shouldn’t say that.”
“Why not?”
“Because!” He looked around before running his thumbs along Zeller’s knuckles. “It’s one thing to admit we want each other, but it’s another to make it so…so…epic. I need to know you’re being sensible. I barely pay my rent, and I have no idea what’s going to happen in my life. You need to keep an open mind about being with an alpha who can care for you the way you deserve. Give you everything.”
Zeller took a deep breath. “I deserve to be with the alpha who makes me feel like the most important person in the state, the one who makes my pulse speed up, and the one…the one who makes my ass slick,” he finished on a whisper.
A long swallow worked its way down Valentin’s throat, making his Adam’s apple bob. He leaned down to kiss Zeller’s fingertips. “You would really wait seven years?”
“My parents might come around before then.”
“They won’t.”
“They might. I’ve been a good and obedient son. Maybe they’ll give me this.” Ignoring Valentin’s skeptical expression, he continued, “But if I have to wait seven years, and turn down every eligible alpha my fathers throw at me, then that’s what I do.”
“You realize that staying single that long will becomplicated?”
Zeller’s cheeks warmed. Valentin was referring to his heats, that he’d need to manage them, and that might require an alpha.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We can tackle that when the time comes. Daddy told me his first heat didn’t happen until he was twenty-one, so I’m hoping for that. But Valentin?”
“Yeah?”
“What I need from you the most is for you to stop trying to talk me out of this. Stop pretending you don’t want it. We both understand the obstacles. But if we’re going to get what we want,we have to stop dwelling on the problems and start working on the solutions. I need to know we’re in this together.”
Valentin was silent for a long, loaded minute. Finally, he said, “You humble me, as always.”
“Humble you?”
“Your tenacity… Sometimes I can’t believe you want me.” Smoky sage thickened the air.
“I love your scent. It calms me.”
Exhaling, Valentin pushed off the bench. “I want to be as strong as you.”
Zeller startled as the alpha knelt in front of him, reaching up to cup his cheek.
“What—?”
“Omega, wearein this together. Your smile…your eyes…your laugh…have become necessary to my existence.” His fingers carded through Zeller’s curls. “And if knowing the depth of my desire is what you need, then please understand—I would crawl across broken glass for you. I would fight any battles you ask me to. And if you truly want to wait seven years, we will endure those years together. And during that time, I can make myself worthy.”
“You’re worthy,” Zeller whispered.
“No. You have my heart, and I won’t try to talk you out of it again, but I need to be a partner you can be proud of.”
Zeller wanted to reassure him that he was already proud, but he understood what the alpha was driving it. And, practically speaking, it would be easier to broach this subject with his parents if Valentin had more direction. “So, being forced to wait might be a good thing?”
Valentin dipped his chin. “From that lens, it is. But you need to promise me something.”
“Anything.”