Watching the sunlight shatter against the high-rise glass all around him as his driver took him to Felix’s offices in the city, Heath bristled now at that memory. Felix had seen the naked photos of Adrien from the auction site, too. A lot of men had. And while there was nothing shameful about nudity, and Adrien had a beautiful body he should be proud of, right now that body was Heath’s to protect and care for. He couldn’t tolerate the idea of anyone else, except perhaps his favorite old servant Simon, looking at it.

He sighed, tugging at his hair, and then used his fingers to get it back into position. He didn’t want to look out of sorts. Felix would ask questions, and questions were something Heath didn’t want to answer right now. Not from Felix, and not even from old, devoted Simon.

Speaking of Simon, he had already tutted at Heath for impregnating Adrien at all. And that had been before he saw the boy walking through the castle with Heath and had instantly recognized his likeness to Nathan. Heath had been lucky to get out of the castle without Simon boxing his ears for, as he’d put it, ‘twisted perversions.’

Heath understood what Simon was on about. He was playing with fire of every kind. Not only was he covering himself in emotional lighter fluid, but he was also potentially torching a decade-long truce between himself and his younger brother, Lidell. A truce achieved because Heath had never managed to procreate.

But now he had.

And there would be hell to pay for that if Lidell had anything to say about it. And he would. Eventually. Lidell had always wanted Clearwater passed to Ned, his auction-born child. A brat with no ambition beyond throwing parties and fucking omegas through heats—and throwing parties centered around fucking desperate omegas outside of heats.

Not that Heath could chide the boy about that. He’d been much the same at Ned’s age. What alpha hadn’t been? Sex-obsessed pleasure-hounds. But Ned’s little group of friends were privileged beyond the telling, and Heath didn’t know if Ned would ever grow out of it.

Regardless, Simon had every right to be annoyed with him.

Making a child with Nathan’s son was both everything Heath had dreamed of when he’d schemed it and nothing at all like he’d imagined. He hadn’t explained to Simon that Adrien had qualities Heath admired for their own sake, and, well, he’d be hard-pressed to even list for Simon what those qualities were, since they mainly involved the very intimate details of how Adrien took being fucked, the sounds he made, and the way he trusted Heath so completely. Something Nathan had never done.

Simon would say he should have gotten to know the boy better before taking this step. But they had four months before the baby came for that, didn’t that? That was part and parcel of why omegas were kept separate from the rest of society while they gestated—to promote a bond with the alpha. If the alpha wanted a bond, that was. Many didn’t. And he hadn’t planned on wanting one, but…

God, he was tired of his own brain. He just wanted to go back to the castle, fuck Adrien, and hold him while they dreamed up names for their baby. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so. Because the car had arrived at Felix’s office building.

The driver opened the car door for him, and he stepped out into the sunset. Heath shaded his eyes before slipping on sunglasses and walking purposefully into the Sanchez Holding Company offices, where he took the elevator up to Felix’s private rooms at the top.

Felix was a big, beefy redhead with strong arms and thighs. He looked great in a suit, like he could take a man apart limb by limb while simultaneously making trade deals with the leaders of the fifteen nations of the world. His features were strong and had a patrician air to them, which gave refinement to his big build, and his eyes twinkled with humor and

intelligence. He was also, for better or worse, raunchy as all hell.

“So you fucked that kid through his heat, huh?” he asked as soon as Heath walked in. “Paid a fortune to do it, too. Damn, friend, I hope he was worth it.” He gripped Heath’s hand hard and shook it with a salacious grin on his face.

“He’s pregnant,” Heath said. He’d kept the news mostly to himself, aside from the doctor he’d put on retainer for Adrien’s well-being, and Simon, of course. But he knew if he didn’t tell Felix now, the man would say something that would make Heath put a fist in his face, and that wouldn’t be pleasant or profitable for either of them.

“Oh, he wasn’t just a pleasure fuck, then?” Felix said, blinking in surprise. “And here I thought you had simply made time for a sensual holiday for two.”

“No,” Heath said firmly. “I’m making an heir.”

“I bet Lidell is thrilled to hear that.”

Heath groaned.

“Oh, Lidell doesn’t know, does he?” Felix shook his head and cackled, his neck extending back with his glee. “Sweet babies in a basket, Heath!

What’s going on with you?”

“Business first.” Heath shot his cuffs and sat down in the chair opposite Felix’s desk. “Fill me in on this investment you’re so sold on and convince me to give you the money for it.”

Felix smirked but didn’t argue. He knew Heath well enough to know that pissing him off now wasn’t a good personal or business choice.

The rest of the meeting ran quickly.

“I do appreciate you coming in today,” Felix said once the ink was dry on the agreement and Heath had put a large sum of money at his disposal. “As usual, I couldn’t do what I do without you.”

Heath shrugged. He’d inherited his family’s fortune when his parents died, and he had more than he could ever spend. He’d found over the years that money didn’t buy happiness, and, if he had his way, he’d spend more time in the woods and less time cutting deals. But he also knew the world around them was going to shit, and if he wanted to make a difference in it, then he needed allies like Felix to fight the good fight, build the good buildings, fund the right work, and organize proper charities. For fuck’s sake, he wasn’t going to do it himself, now was he?

He stood up, straightened his suit jacket, and said, “I have things to attend to at home. Raincheck on those drinks, friend.”

“And by ‘things to attend,’ do you mean a pregnant omega?” Felix asked.

Heath adjusted his tie. He should have known Felix wasn’t going to let the subject go. They’d been friends too long, and Felix knew too much about his family’s dramas to not see how Lidell was going to take it and to not wonder what prompted Heath to burn that bridge after all these years.

He cleared his throat, uncertain where to start. Should he tell him all the justifications he’d made up after the fact? Or the truth?

“He was a luscious young man,” Felix said. “I was willing to pay a lot to have his heat. I have a few children already, as you know, all of them living with their omega parents because I have no patience for young ones. But if I’d won him, I’d have paid to breed, too. He’s handsome and intelligent. I get the urge. I do.” Felix tilted his head. “But, Heath, it’s not like you.”

So the truth, then.

“He’s Nathan’s son,” he said. It came out sounding strangled. He hoped Felix didn’t notice. He hadn’t meant to give so very much away with so few words.

Felix’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “He’s what?”

“Nathan’s son. His only living descendent. From his first breeding.”

Felix stared at Heath and then headed to the liquor cabinet by the wide windows looking out over the city. “No, you’re staying for a drink, because this? This is madness.”

Heath almost balked, but Felix approached him with a finger and a half of brandy and a worried glimmer in his eye that spoke of true friendship. Heath sighed and took the liquor.

“Your favorite brandy,” Felix said.

Heath took a sip.

“Now, sit down here on the sofa,” Felix said, guiding Heath toward the area of his office reserved for more casual conversations. “You’ve impregnated your dead lover’s son,” Felix said, and Heath had to admit it sounded quite bad when put like that. “Does he know?”