Eric heaved a sigh. “Fine. But I need to recharge first.”
“Recharge?”
Eric gave him his best puppy eyes. “Can I scent you? And then we can go back to alpha-hunting?”
The look Hugh gave him was decidedly unimpressed. “Eric.”
Eric licked his lips, his stomach fluttering with a weird sort of warmth. That stern tone probably shouldn’t have made him feel that way. Fuck, it was messed up. Why in the world did he like being scolded? He hated being scolded; but apparently he liked being scolded by this alpha. Should he start worrying about it? Probably. But it was hard to worry about anything when Hugh was so close. So close, and yet so far.
Eric stared hungrily at Hugh’s throat just above his collar. There was a hint of stubble there. Would it prickle his skin if he rubbed his face against it? He wanted to rub his face against it.
“Eric,” Hugh said, exasperation creeping into his stern tone.
“Hugh,” Eric teased him, smiling.
Hugh laughed, his eyes sparkling and the red in his rich brown hair glinting in the light.
Eric stared at him helplessly, feeling like he could eat him. He was distantly aware of other people turning and staring appreciatively at Hugh, and he hated it. He wanted to wrap his arms around Hugh’s waist and bare his teeth at the omegas ogling him, no matter how irrational it was.
“Ugh, I need to get out of here or I might do something stupid,” Eric said, wincing.
“Stupid?” Hugh said, his eyebrows lifting slightly.
Stupid like sucking a hickey on your neck in front of all these elegant, perfect omegas with unblemished reputations.
Eric didn’t say that. He said, “I’ve read that possessiveness over the alpha’s attention is a side effect of an imprint.” Hopefully Hugh could read between the lines without forcing him to spell out the embarrassing truth.
Hugh’s lips twitched. “It is.”
“Don’t you laugh at me!” Eric said, laughing a little.
“I’m laughing with you, not at you,” Hugh said with a straight face, but his eyes were bright with amusement. “All right, we can take a little break and you can scent me to deal with your… side effect. Come.” He led him out of the room, and then up the stairs.
“Where are we going?” Eric said curiously, slipping his hand into Hugh’s.
“To the VIP lounges,” Hugh said, frowning at their hands a little but not objecting. “Hopefully there will be an empty one.”
There was.
Hugh accessed the lounge using his credit chip and locked the door. “We have to be quick before our absence is noticed—”
Eric pushed him against the door and buried his face in Hugh’s neck, moaning in relief and contentment. It was amazing how well they fit together. Like a lock and key, like there should have been an audible click when they slotted into each other’s space. Fuck, Hugh smelled so good, but the scent was still too faint for his liking. “Can you stop using the suppressants? I hate them.”
He felt Hugh’s fingers in his hair. It felt so nice.
“I can’t, Eri.”
“I can smell you anyway, so what’s the point?” Eric mumbled. “Maybe I’m like this because I can’t get enough of your pheromones.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Hugh said, very dryly.
“Says who?”
“Says the AO expert in the room.”
Smiling, Eric rubbed his face against Hugh’s throat. The alpha’s stubble did prickle his skin a little, but Eric didn’t mind. He didn’t mind at all. He wanted to have marks on his skin. Hugh’s marks. His Hugh’s. On his skin. On him.
“That’s enough, love.”
Eric shivered. “No. A little longer.” He wasn’t whining. He wasn’t.
He felt more than heard Hugh sigh. “It might calm you short-term, but the more you scent me, the stronger the imprint will be. That’s the opposite of what we want.”
At the moment Eric couldn’t imagine wanting anything except this. But he probably shouldn’t say that. It might freak Hugh out. It was starting to freak him out.
“A little while longer,” he murmured, pressing his nose against the alpha’s scent gland and taking deep breaths. Gods, Hugh smelled delicious. Like everything wonderful in the world. Like comfort, warmth, and safety. Like alpha. Strong, virile, trustworthy alpha. Apparently, that had a smell too. At least that was how Hugh smelled to him.
Hugh sighed again. “What am I going to do with you?” he murmured, resting his chin on top of Eric’s head, his strong hand stroking his back. Eric had never felt better in his life. He wanted to melt into this man and never, ever emerge.
“Eric.” This time the tone was admonishing.
Eric froze, realizing that he’d been grinding his cock—his very hard cock—against the older man’s thigh. He was suddenly very glad that Hugh couldn’t see his face.
Hugh cleared his throat a little. “This is precisely why scenting me too much isn’t a good idea. Your body gets confused about what it wants from me.”