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  It was as if he’d flipped a switch in his head. The words he spoke were formal and structured, but they rolled from his tongue like he was chatting with an old friend. Sterling had invited him to open up, and so Cedric had—but that was no excuse to get sloppy. He was professional in what he did, and he was determined to show Sterling as much.

  Sterling’s interest didn’t lessen. “Explain.”

  “Omegas are like anyone else.” Cedric spoke with conviction, and he spoke with truth. He’d stood by his ideals since his eyes had been opened at The Shepherd almost seven years ago, and he wasn’t about to back down from them now. “No matter what society or the media says, I fully support the Omega Rights Movement. These are intelligent, dependable, and hardworking men and women who deserve to be treated the same way anyone else is treated. They work the same high-pressure jobs, suffer from the same stresses, and work toward the same hopes and dreams that we do. So why not offer them the same kind of release?” Cedric searched Sterling’s face for signs that he wanted to interrupt, but he found none. With Sterling’s unspoken permission, he kept talking. “Professional Doms and Dominatrixes have offered private services for alphas looking for release from their stressful lives since forever, but who has stepped in to fill the need of omegas looking for the same relief? It’s not about genetics, and it’s not about a sense of natural superiority… what I do, I do because they deserve it.”

  “And how do you know that you’re not overstepping your boundaries?” Sterling asked.

  Cedric got the impression that this wasn’t part of the job interview anymore. The professional slant in Sterling’s voice, once so prominent, was gone.

  It didn’t matter. Cedric sat up a little straighter, made sure to meet Sterling’s eyes, and replied with sincerity. “I know because I’m not afraid to ask.”

  The statement hung heavily between them, thickening the air as it set the tone for the rest of the interview. Cedric refused to look away from Sterling’s gaze. The interview made him nervous, but he wasn’t afraid. He would not compromise on his beliefs, even if it meant he had to pass up the job that would change his life.

  Even if it meant he had to dishonor her.

  Sterling arched a brow thoughtfully. “I’m curious as to how—”

  The office door flew open. The doorknob struck the wall guard with a metallic chank that made Cedric jump. His eyes had been trained on Sterling—he hadn’t been expecting the interruption.

  Sterling, however, looked unperturbed. When he spoke, he did so with affection laced with controlled exasperation. “Welcome home, Adrian. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. I’m in the middle of an interview.”

  A young man stormed into the room, his dark gray suit and formal white shirt only made less casual by the infant he cradled against his chest. Done up in a pink onesie spotted with little yellow ducks, she curled her fingers around her father’s collar and tugged. Short, downy blond hair covered her head. But it wasn’t the sudden appearance of the man or the strange contrast of business-professional against paternal that widened Cedric’s eyes—it was his identity. “Adrian?”

  None other than Adrian Lowe stopped in his tracks and diverted his attention from Sterling to Cedric. The hardened look on Adrian’s face softened with confusion. He squinted at Cedric, brows knit together, like he wasn’t sure that Cedric was real.

  To be fair, Cedric wasn’t sure that what he was seeing was real, either. The last time he’d seen Adrian Lowe was right before they’d graduated high school. There’d been rumors in their group of friends about the tragedy the Lowe family had been through during the summer break between high school and college, but Cedric had never been involved enough in Adrian’s life to concern himself with the details. To see him now, a baby clutched to his chest, standing in Sterling’s private office above The Shepherd, was a shock Cedric hadn’t braced himself for.

  Adrian spent a long moment looking at Cedric, then flicked his gaze back to Sterling. He squared his shoulders. Irritation read clearly on his face, and Cedric couldn’t help but feel like it was meant to be directed at him.

  “We need to talk,” Adrian said.

  “I’m in the middle of an interview, Adrian. You’ll have to wait.”

  “We need to talk now.” Adrian stepped forward, coming to stand beside Cedric. At such close proximity, Cedric could pick up just a hint of the omega he remembered from high school. There was no doubt about it—it was Adrian Lowe. “It’s about Gabriel.”

  The atmosphere changed. Like a blackout curtain pulled across a southern-facing window, the room was robbed of its light. Sterling’s professionally playful expression faded, and he eased up from his chair with thinly veiled urgency that Cedric wagered would have looked like fear had Sterling not been in such tight control of himself. When Sterling met his eyes again, his expression was drawn and his emotions were masked. “I’m sorry, Mr. Langston. Would you excuse me for a moment?”

  “Of course.” There was no other answer. Whatever was happening was serious, and Cedric was in no position to pin Sterling to an interview when it was clear he was needed elsewhere. Burning bridges with Sterling Holt was a bad, bad idea if Cedric wanted to remain an integral part of Aurora’s kink community—and if he still wanted a shot at the job he was interviewing for. “I’ll wait here. Take your time.”

  Sterling and Adrian exited the room, leaving Cedric to process what he’d just seen. It was ludicrous to think the eighteen-year-old Adrian Lowe he remembered from high school would be the same person after half a decade, but to think that Adrian’s life would have shaped up in such a way that they’d meet again in Sterling’s office? Cedric still couldn’t believe it.

  With a heavy outward sigh, Cedric settled in his chair and tilted his head back until it couldn’t go back any farther. The ceiling was plain and white, offering little distraction. He let his eyes drift out of focus while he came off his interview high.

  While he wished Sterling and Adrian the best, he knew that the interruption likely meant he’d be overlooked for the job. Whatever emergency was going on would distract Sterling from their interview, and Cedric would fade from his mind and be disregarded as a qualified candidate when he sat down to make his choice. Cedric did his best to accept that reality for what it was. The faster he moved on from the loss, the faster he’d be able to bounce back. It wasn’t that he was hurting for money, but the lateral move from professional Dom to manager at The Shepherd was too good an opportunity to pass up. The connections alone were worth it.

  What it would have meant to Brittany sweetened the deal that much more.

  Minutes passed. There was arguing in the hall—one-sided, by the sounds of it. The only raised voice Cedric heard was Adrian’s, but he was silenced following a heavy thud that vibrated through the office wall. Cedric lifted his head and turned in his chair to look at the door, an eyebrow raised. No further noise followed.

  Five more minutes passed. There were footsteps down the hall, and then the door was opened once more. Adrian stepped through the doorway with partially lidded eyes and ruddy lips, his hair mussed. His blown-out pupils paired with the dreamy look on his face hinted that he was teetering on the edge of subspace. He no longer held his baby daughter to his chest. Sterling entered behind him, the baby cradled in his arm. She cooed and tugged at his jacket, but in that moment, Sterling’s eyes were only for Adrian. If Cedric had ever doubted the validity of their relationship, he no longer did. The chemistry between them burned red-hot, and the Dom emerging from inside Sterling fitted the starry-eyed submissive Adrian had melted into to a T.

  “I apologize for the interruption.” Sterling took his seat, careful not to disturb his daughter. Adrian stood behind him—he did his best to look firm, but the faraway, relaxed look in his eyes betrayed him. “I’ll be blunt. Due to personal circumstance, the position I was looking to fill is momentarily closed while we adjust to a new family dynamic.”

  Cedric’s heart sank. He knew to expect as much, but to hear it from Sterling so firmly and directly? It hurt.

  But Sterling didn’t stop there. He met Cedric’s eyes, and the uptick in Cedric’s heartbeat and the way his breath jammed in his throat spoke for his excitement before it resonated inside of him. The intensity in Sterling’s gaze pinned him, but Cedric met it and returned it. He would not allow himself to come across as meek. Not now. He’d left submission behind five years ago, and nothing could make him go back.

  “Another position, however, has opened up.” Sterling adjusted the baby in his arms, keeping her cradled protectively to his chest. Her presence did not detract from the stern, immovable force that was Sterling. Even with a pink-onesie-clad infant, Sterling commanded respect. “…One which I believe you would be a prime candidate for, and one which may serve as a test, of sorts, to determine if you’re a proper fit for the management position once it does open back up.”

  “All right.” Cedric pressed his lips together. “I’m listening.”

  “I want to see what kind of a Dom you really are.” Sterling looked into his eyes, but his gaze didn’t stop there—it pierced Cedric deep, as if Sterling was looking to pluck out the truth from his very soul. “I want to see your work ethic in action. I’d like to hire you on twenty-four seven to care for an omega who is desperately in need of release from the life he’s been brought to lead.”

  “Twenty-four seven?” Cedric’s fingers tightened against his palm, well out of Sterling’s line of sight.

  “Full-time domination.” Sterling’s expression did not waver. “Paid, of course. You will not be asked to overstep any of your limits or boundaries, nor will you be restricted as to what you can or cannot do, so long as you believe it is in the best interest of the submissive.”

  Adrian planted his hands on Sterling’s desk and leaned forward, subspace blown to pieces as his eyes narrowed and his lips scowled. “But if you touch my brother, I will personally see to it that you will never touch him, or any other omega, ever again.”

  Gabriel.

  They wanted him to dominate Gabriel Lowe.

  Cedric’s gaze locked with Adrian’s, and his eyes narrowed. “It’s not your decision whether the domination is sexual or not.”

  The room went silent. The tick of the clock hanging on the wall filled the emptiness, but Cedric barely heard it. His eyes stayed locked on Adrian’s. Back in high school, Adrian had barely been a blip on his radar, but Cedric remembered him well enough. After he’d gone into heat, he’d changed—become bolder and more outspoken, like he had a point to prove, and no one would keep him from proving it. Cedric would not allow himself to be spoken over, and he would not allow his potential submissive to suffer at Adrian’s hands, either, whether that submissive was Adrian’s brother or not.

  It was Gabriel’s decision whether Cedric lay his hands on him. Adrian would not speak for him.

  Eventually, Adrian scowled and dropped his gaze. He set his hand on the back of Sterling’s chair, eyes narrowed and directed to the side, like he was insulted.

  Cedric returned his attention to Sterling. “For how long?”

  “However long it takes.” Sterling set a hand on his daughter’s back, but his eyes did not leave Cedric. “A few months at most, if I had to guess. The problem with Gabriel is that he--”

  Adrian’s hand moved to squeeze Sterling’s shoulder, and Sterling stopped what he was saying and shook his head. Cedric looked between them curiously, but he didn’t push for further information. Whatever it was they wanted to tell him about Gabriel, he would find out on his own.

  “I can’t take the job unless I meet him. I need to know it’s what he wants.” Consent and communication, above all else, were essential if an arrangement like that was going to work. Power was always in the hands of the submissive—Cedric only ever satisfied their needs. He never forced a client to do anything they weren’t one hundred percent certain they wanted. Sterling, of all people, should have known that. “A full-time arrangement isn’t something you take lightly. I need to know that he trusts me, and I need to know I can trust him to express himself.”

  Adrian pushed off the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. Sterling, however, smiled. “That response leads me to believe that you’re the right man for the job. I’d be glad to arrange a meeting. Something casual. Are you available tomorrow afternoon?”

  “Anytime after three.”

  “You’ll meet me at the doors of the club at three-thirty tomorrow.” Sterling rose from his desk slowly, careful not to disturb the child he cradled in his arm. “We’ll introduce the two of you and make sure that the fit is right, and from there, we’ll finalize the details.”

  “Tomorrow at three-thirty.” Cedric followed Sterling to his feet and held out his hand. The gesture was returned. Sterling’s grip was firm, and the hardened glint in his eyes promised that what he asked wasn’t some kind of elaborate joke.

  “It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Langston.” Sterling released his hand, leaving Cedric on his own to process the unexpected turn of events. “We’ll see you then.”

  2

  Gabriel

  The spare bedroom was gone. Gabriel leaned against the doorway and looked across the room in silence, stunned into inaction. Melancholy crept down his throat and into his stomach, tingling and unwelcome. No matter what thoughts he tried to cling to, the awful feelings it brought wouldn’t go away.

  The room he’d used to call his own was an office now. Sterling’s desk, chair, and filing cabinets occupied the space where Gabriel’s bed used to be. Not that it was really his bed, but in the few months he’d lived with Sterling and Adrian, Gabriel had grown fond of the blankets and the downy mattress. He’d liked the sleek, modern dresser across the room, glamorous with its dark finish and meticulously polished surface. He’d even liked the coat hangers in the closet, with their velvet covering.

  Now all of it was gone.

  “We turned Sterling’s office into Lilian’s nursery,” Adrian explained softly from behind Gabriel’s shoulder. He set a hand between Gabriel’s shoulder blades. “Sterling moved his office into the guest bedroom, and we’ve put the furniture that was in it into storage. We’re planning a move in the next few years, anyway—sometime before Lilian starts kindergarten.”

  “Where can I sleep?” Gabriel couldn’t speak any louder than a near-whisper. The way his throat tightened convinced him that if he tried to raise his voice, he’d start to cry. The last two years had been nothing but change, and after having stability for such a long time while at The White Lotus, he hated it. “I know you w-weren’t expecting me, but…”

  “We had the foresight to invest in a sleeper sofa.” Adrian’s thumb worked in small circles against Gabriel’s back, but it didn’t help Gabriel feel any better. “It’s comfy. We have spare pillows and blankets, the same ones that you used when you were staying in the old guest bedroom. You’ll like it.”

  The sleeper sofa didn’t make a difference. Not really. Gabriel had slept on the floor, and sometimes, when he’d been very bad, he’d been forced to sleep while standing. Comfort didn’t matter to him as much as Adrian’s perception of him did, and it was obvious from how Adrian had done away with the guest bedroom that he didn’t think very highly of him at all.

  Adrian and Sterling hadn’t expected him to come back. They’d had their baby, they’d remodeled their penthouse, and they’d worked him out of their lives. They’d expected him to recover and succeed.

  He’d failed them.

  A part of him, a dark, twisted part, whispered that if his plan had worked, he would have been failing them, anyway. If he’d found a way to get to Garrison, Adrian would have been disappointed and worried, even more than he was now. But if his plan had worked, another voice murmured, then at least he would have been happy. At least he wouldn’t have become a burden on his brother. Adrian’s life was about Sterling now, and Gabriel’s return threatened to ruin it.

  “You don’t have to worry much about privacy,” Adrian promised. “We’ve got some screens we can put up, so you’ll have walls between us and you. You only need to come out when you want to. We won’t bother you.”

  Gabriel’s fingers curled upward until he found the sleeve of his sweater. He picked and pulled at the hem nervously. Fundamentally, he knew that what Adrian said was true, but it didn’t help him get over his rising anxiety.

  “Lilian is quiet. Once or twice a week, she gets a little fussy, but for the most part she’s a well-behaved baby. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her waking you up in the middle of the night. And if you’d like, we can move her crib into our room, so you won’t hear her at all.”

  The slow, steady thud of Gabriel’s heart managed to rattle his ribcage. He blinked a few times in rapid succession, then took a deep breath and let it all out in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure building up inside.

  “Besides,” Adrian murmured, leaning a little closer like what he had to say was a secret, “I’ve got something I want to talk to you about. It might not matter if there isn’t a room with a door or if Lilian is fussy at night much longer. Let’s go sit, okay? We should talk about it now, before we get distracted.”

  The declaration pulled Gabriel out of his head, and he found the strength to turn and look at his brother. The last nine months hadn’t changed Adrian physically all that much—his face had matured a little, his stubble thicker and his eyes more wary than they’d been before, but his hair was still the same golden-brown Gabriel remembered, and his eyes the same gray-blue that Gabriel had always wished he shared. What was different was how he held himself, like he had something to look forward to instead of something he constantly had to tolerate.