Adriel pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath that Eren couldn't catch. His shoulders were taut, his whole body one coiled spring of restraint.
And Eren decided to push harder.
He stood slowly, deliberately, letting the chair scrape against the floor. His scent shifted—warm, playful, but laced with a quiet challenge. An omega pulling, tugging, daring his alpha to follow instinct.
Adriel looked up—and froze when he realized how close Eren had come.
"Cute," Eren said again, tilting his head, his lips dangerously close to brushing Adriel's jaw. "Definitely cute. Not the scary, untouchable CEO right now. Just my flustered alpha, trying not to lose it."
Adriel's throat worked. His hands twitched at his sides, fists clenching, unclenching. "Red… don't."
"Don't what?" Eren whispered, stepping into his space, his chest pressing lightly against Adriel's. His scent unfurled, low and insistent, curling around Adriel's like silk. "Don't notice how red your ears are? Don't breathe you in and think you smell good when you're rattled?"
Adriel's breath hitched. His alpha pheromones spiked, flooding the room—possessive, warning, but also trembling at the edges with need.
Eren smiled, slow and wicked. "You're holding back. Why?"
"Because if I don't, I'll…" Adriel snapped his jaw shut, but it was too late. His voice was low, frayed, his control slipping.
Eren leaned up, lips brushing his ear, soft enough to be mistaken for a breath. "You'll what, Adriel?"
Adriel's hands finally moved—grabbing Eren's hips in a grip too firm to be gentle, too careful to be rough. He pulled him flush against his body, every nerve screaming, every instinct demanding bond, mark, claim.
"Don't test me," he growled, voice rough, trembling with restraint. "You have no idea how thin the line is right now."
Eren only smirked against his skin, his scent teasing, coaxing, daring. "Maybe I do."
Adriel's grip on Eren's hips tightened until his knuckles whitened. His chest heaved, his pupils blown wide, drowning in the omega's heat and scent. For a second, he thought he could hold it—keep the line. But then Eren shifted against him, just a brush of hips, deliberate and teasing, and that fragile thread snapped.
Adriel growled—a low, guttural sound that vibrated in his chest—and slammed Eren back against the wall. Not rough enough to hurt, but hard enough that the air crackled between them.
Eren gasped, a quick, sharp inhale, his body arching instinctively. His pheromones flared sweet and heady, flooding the room, wrapping around Adriel like chains.
"You think it's funny to push me like this?" Adriel hissed, his mouth hovering inches from Eren's throat. His breath was hot, his voice frayed with need.
Eren's lips curled into the faintest smirk, even as his heart pounded. "I think it's fun watching you fall apart."
That did it.
Adriel's mouth crashed against his, the kiss brutal, consuming, edged with desperation. One hand pinned Eren's wrists above his head, the other gripped his waist like he'd never let go. Eren moaned into his mouth, pliant yet eager, pulling him closer with every brush of tongue, every bite of lip.
The room spun in heat and pheromones, their scents tangling, amplifying, instinct burning through them both. Adriel broke the kiss only to drag his lips along Eren's jaw, down to the soft curve of his throat. His teeth grazed skin, just shy of biting, of marking.
Eren shuddered, his body trembling between fear and anticipation. "Do it," he whispered, his voice shaking but hungry. "I want—"
"No," Adriel snarled against his skin, every word jagged with restraint. His tongue flicked over the spot he wanted most, soothing and tormenting all at once. "Not like this. Not yet. If I mark you now, I won't stop. I'll cage you, Red. You'll hate me for it."
Eren's breath hitched, his omega instincts clawing for more, for claim, for bond. But Adriel held fast, pressing his forehead against Eren's shoulder, panting, trembling. His hands roamed instead—gripping, caressing, pulling Eren closer until there was no space left between them.
Every kiss was fevered, every touch desperate. But still, that one line—marking—he would not cross.
Because losing himself to instinct was one thing. Taking away Eren's choice was another.
Adriel's breath was ragged, the alpha in him barely tethered, every muscle straining with the effort not to sink his teeth into that vulnerable spot pulsing at Eren's throat.
Instead, he poured everything else into his touch—his mouth, his hands, his body pressing Eren flush against the wall until he could feel every tremor, every racing heartbeat.
Eren tilted his head back, exposing himself shamelessly, letting Adriel taste the edge of surrender. "You're shaking," he whispered, teasing even as his own body burned.
"You have no idea what you're doing to me," Adriel growled before claiming his mouth again, this time slower, hungrier. His tongue pushed past Eren's lips, claiming the omega's sweetness, swallowing his every sound.
Eren melted into him, his wrists still pinned overhead, his body pliant but eager, straining to close the last spaces between them. Every brush of Adriel's thigh between his legs drew a gasp, every roll of hips pulled a broken moan.
The air grew thick, heady with pheromones—Adriel's dominance saturating the room, warm spice and smoke, threaded with Eren's sweeter scent, sharp and needy. It was instinct screaming at them to give in, to bond, to complete.
But Adriel resisted that one final leap. Instead, he trailed kisses down Eren's throat, over his collarbone, teeth grazing but never sinking. His free hand slid under Eren's shirt, palm flattening against bare skin, feeling the quiver of muscles beneath.
"Adriel…" Eren breathed, his voice trembling, half plea, half provocation. His omega instincts surged, desperate to be claimed, to be marked, but his human heart thrilled at this—the way Adriel was unraveling for him and him alone.
Adriel's lips found his again, rough and needy, then softer, lingering as though memorizing. His hand roamed lower, gripping Eren's hip, dragging him closer until their bodies ground together, heat sparking with every movement.
Eren arched, a sharp cry muffled by Adriel's mouth. His head spun, the intensity dizzying, his scent spilling uncontrolled in waves of want.
Adriel shuddered, his control fraying. "You're going to drive me insane, Red," he muttered against his lips, kissing him again, deeper this time, almost desperate.
Their bodies moved with instinct, lips and hands everywhere, tangled in a rhythm born from craving and restraint colliding. Not claiming. Not marking. But everything else—the fever, the heat, the surrender—burned between them, leaving no doubt.
Adriel might not mark him tonight. But his body, his touch, his kiss—all of it screamed one truth:
Eren was his.