Bottom At Heart
Chapter 5

Floris paused outside of the door, steeling himself. He hadn’t heard anything from Heart in three days. And best friend that he was, he had to make sure that he wasn’t dead or something.

He reached out, tapping the code into the sealed door with shaking fingers. He could do this. He was better than his instincts.

Floris pulled the door open slowly, then slammed it shut. Nope. Nope. Nope. He exhaled, pressing a hand to his face, forcing himself to calm down. He pulled the door open again, holding his breath, ignoring the instant tightness in his pants. He’s been around Heart in Heat. He could do this. He just needed to not breathe.

“Heart?” He choked out, peering into the darkness.

He heard a muffled reply, and he stepped inside, leaving the door wide open. He flipped the lights on and nearly turned tail and ran.

Heart, drama queen that he was, was face down on the floor, dressed only in green boxers that had little ducks on them. Floris concentrated on the duckies. Not on the pool of slick that Heart was currently wallowing in. Not on the smell of an Omega in Heat. Heart’s Heat pheromones were particularly irresistible.

It was hard to think, all the blood in his body was in his cock that was now throbbing painfully. Luckily for him, Heart didn’t even move, though Floris knew the Omega was fully aware that an Alpha was in fucking distance.

“Heart? Are you okay?” Floris managed, trying to exhale in a way that was in no way a moan.

“I want to die.”

Floris closed his eyes. At normal times, Heart’s voice was like sin and sex. Right now, it nearly sent Floris to his knees.

He took a step forward. “Um. Do you want help?” He offered. He took a step back when he realized he’d already unbuttoned his shirt and was working on his belt buckle.

Heart gave a throaty laugh and Floris closed his eyes against the sound. “You’re sweet, babe. But no. I’m not horny. I’m excruciatingly ill. I don’t think I’ve thrown up so much in my life.”

That helped cool Floris’s burning lust, but not by much. Undermining Heart’s pronouncement, his dark green boxers were slowly soaking as the Omega began reacting to the scent of a very aroused Alpha.

Clearing his throat, Floris squatted down next to Heart, reaching out carefully. “Heart, you’re going to drown in your own slick.”

“If that’s how I go, so be it,” Heart mumbled as Floris lifted his face, turning it so his tiny friend could breathe. That also meant that his fingers were now coated in slick and Heart’s face was far too close to his throbbing dick.

Floris exhaled, and shifted, tugging Heart until he’d flipped the other over onto his back. He closed his eyes against the warmth of Heart’s skin, against the dampness of sweat and slick that now coated his hands.

Floris grabbed his friend’s wrists, ignoring the almost overpowering scent of Heart’s overactive scent glands. He started dragging Heart towards the master bathroom, intending to dump both of them under the cold water.

Heart was doing an impression of a snail as Floris dragged him to the bathroom. Luckily, the slick trail was making it easier for Floris to drag him over the bathroom tile. He stopped by the walk-in shower, opening the door and slinging Heart unceremoniously into the shower. He stepped in, flicking the water on.

Heart flinched and yelled as the cold water hit his overheated skin. “Floris! The fuck!” He whined, and Floris stuck his face under the cold water, begging his erection to shrink even just a little bit.

“You’re slimy,” he replied, not caring that his clothes were now drenched and sticking to his body.

He looked down at Heart, who was now sitting cross legged, back against the shower wall tile. “Never, ever, let me go this long without a Heat.” He said firmly, running shaking fingers through his hair.

Floris laughed a little. “Yeah, no kidding. I’m going to make food. Come out when you feel less like dying. And if you’re not out in thirty minutes, I’m fishing you back out.” He warned, stepping out of the shower.

He heard Heart laughing behind him as he grabbed one of the spare towels. He scrubbed his hair as he walked out of Heart’s room, trying desperately to not drop to his knees and licking up the puddles of slick. He exhaled as he closed the door behind him.

His ringtone interrupted his meditation. He stepped forward, going to where he left his phone on the small table by Heart’s Heat Room. It was a strange number. He frowned, not sure if he should answer it. He glanced at the sealed door. He needed a distraction, even in the form of an insurance salesman.

“Hello?” He said, moving towards to kitchen.

“Mr. Graham?”

The voice was light, soft, sweet. Floris couldn’t tell if it was masculine or feminine.

“Speaking. May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Quinn, Mr. McKinley’s Assistant. I’m calling to gauge the timeframe for Mr. Heart’s rut?”

Floris nearly dropped the eggs he was holding. “Um, why?” He asked stupidly. He knew it wasn’t Quinn’s fault, he was still numb from ignoring his insane arousal.

“So, we can start scheduling photoshoots. My sources tell me that you are closest to him, so I figured that you would have an idea of how much longer it would last.” There was something about Quinn’s tone that Floris didn’t like. A little accusatory, a little sharp. The hell? Floris frowned, cracking eggs into a bowl. Floris glanced back to Heart’s room. “Uh, I think it’s finishing up. I’d give it three days. It’s been a rough one, though. He’s been very sick.”

“Are you with him?”

There was definitely a discernable edge to Quinn’s otherwise very attractive voice. Floris tried to remember the assistant. Blond, neat suit, slim. Beta. Floris rolled his eyes. Another Beta with a complex. What was with Betas and their prejudice against anything Alpha? It wasn’t the Alphas’ fault that Betas had the appeal of stale crackers compared to Omegas. That was just biology.

He sighed, getting back to the conversation at hand. “I’m checking on him, yes. I’m making him food right now.”

There was a long silence. “I see. Well, he’s lucky to have you. I’ll leave you to it. Thank you for taking my call. I’ll see you in four days then?”

“Sounds good. Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

Floris set the phone down, scrambling the eggs, shaking his head. Dumbass uptight Beta. One good thing though was that he was no longer painfully aroused.

Across town, Quinn chewed his lip, frowning slightly. He couldn’t get a good read on the situation. He had been awfully bold, calling Floris like that. But he couldn’t help it. He was going out of his mind with curiosity (jealousy?) over the tall bodyguard’s relationship with the tiny model. Finding out that they were together during Heart’s rut seemed pretty conclusive, as was him making Heart food. Maybe they were shy because two Alphas was still a little taboo. But the way he said it. That he was there, but not as Heart’s rut partner. Or maybe Quinn was overthinking, and it was exactly as it sounded.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Such was his luck. Betas really got the short end of the stick. Average in everything they do. Neither coveted like Alphas nor desired like Omegas. They simply existed in a world that catered to the biological spectrum extremes. He could count the number of lovers he’s had on one hand. Sex with a Beta wasn’t in high demand.

He opened up the file on Heart again. His gaze travelled over the sharp and sassy features, the mischievous smile, the high cheekbones. And he could still remember the intoxicating scent of the man. Mixed with perfume, the model had been devastatingly seductive. No wonder Clar had fallen on his ass for the man.

Quinn traced Heart’s jawline with a slim, pale finger. Who wouldn’t look at Heart and fall in love with him? The man was an international superstar for a reason. And what was he? An assistant. At best.

He sighed again, shoving the file away and turning back to his computer. Speaking of being an assistant, he had work to do. And the first order of business was to schedule Heart’s first photoshoot in four days.