Eren scooped another spoonful, humming happily as the sweetness melted on his tongue. His cheeks flushed faintly pink, eyes glinting with mischief as he tilted the spoon toward Adriel.
"Your turn."
Adriel leaned back on the couch, arms crossed. "I don't eat ice cream at midnight." His tone was flat, dismissive—but his pheromones betrayed him, tightening in the air with the effort of restraint.
Eren smirked, omega instincts sensing the crack. "What, the great Adriel Ulrick is scared of a little sugar?" He wiggled the spoon invitingly.
"I said no," Adriel repeated, jaw tense. He had already gone out into the night like some love-drunk fool for this ridiculous craving—he wasn't about to give in again.
But Eren wasn't letting go. He leaned in, lips slick with melted strawberry swirl, voice dropping to a taunt. "You sure? It's sweet. Want to taste?"
Adriel's breath hitched. His control slipped for just a moment—and that was all it took.
Before Eren could pull back, Adriel's hand cupped his jaw, and he kissed him. Not soft. Not careful. A claiming press of lips that stole the taste straight from his omega's mouth. Sweet cream, strawberry, and beneath it—the raw sweetness of Eren himself.
Eren gasped against him, the spoon clattering onto the table. His whole body went hot, scent spiking sharp and startled, instincts tangled between shock and something far hungrier.
Adriel pulled back slowly, lips still tinged pink from the ice cream. His eyes burned as they locked onto Eren's wide, stunned gaze.
"You wanted me to taste," he said, voice low, rough, almost mocking. "Now I have."
Eren's lips parted, breath shallow. His face was flushed, trembling between outrage and desire—shocked, yes, but unmistakably craving more.
Eren was still staring at him, lips parted, cheeks flushed, chest rising fast. The ice cream was forgotten, the spoon glistening where it had fallen.
"Adriel…" he whispered, voice cracking on his name.
Adriel should've stopped there. Should've pulled back, said something biting to cover his own slip. But Eren's scent was already blooming—warm, dizzying, omega-sweet—and it was unraveling every thread of restraint he had left.
He surged forward again, kissing Eren harder this time. The taste of strawberry lingered, but it was nothing compared to the heat of his omega melting into him. Eren clutched at his shirt, dragging him closer, greedy, desperate, as if he could crawl inside Adriel's skin.
Their pheromones collided—Adriel's sharp alpha musk pressing down, heavy and possessive, while Eren's scent curled up to meet it, coaxing, pleading, pulling. The room felt suffocating with it, thick and charged, like lightning before a storm.
Adriel's hands were everywhere—at Eren's jaw, his waist, sliding under the hem of his shirt as if to anchor himself in the warmth of his omega's body. Eren gasped into the kiss, hips jerking forward without thought, instinct clawing through his control.
"You taste like sin," Adriel rasped against his lips, forehead pressed to Eren's.
His breath was uneven, harsh, every word shaking with the weight of restraint he barely held onto. "Do you even know what you're doing to me?"
Eren's laugh was breathless, wicked. "Looks like I do."
That tease was enough to snap the last of Adriel's composure. He pinned Eren back into the cushions, mouth claiming, hands roaming, every motion feverish. Their hunger wasn't just physical—it was primal, instinct-driven, the kind of craving that left no room for reason.
And yet, even as Adriel drowned in it, teeth grazing Eren's throat, instinct howling for him to mark, he forced himself back at the last second—panting, trembling, lips hovering just above the place where his bite should go.
Not yet.
Not like this.
Not until Eren begged for it.
Eren shivered beneath him, scent flushed with need, eyes blown wide. His voice cracked, both a challenge and a plea: "Then don't stop."
Adriel's chest heaved against Eren's, their breaths tangling in the charged space between them. The restraint that had held him back all night was cracking—splintering with every second of Eren's heat under his hands, every pulse of that sweet omega scent flooding his lungs.
And then he broke.
Adriel crushed their mouths together, kissing him with a hunger that was nothing short of savage. Eren arched into him instantly, fingers fisting his shirt, pulling, demanding. Their bodies locked, tangled, the air thick with pheromones—Alpha dominance crashing against Omega submission, but not in surrender. Eren met him with equal fire, coaxing, teasing, daring Adriel to lose himself completely.
Clothes became an afterthought, touches turning frantic, searching. Every graze of skin, every scrape of teeth, every breathless gasp was soaked in craving.
"Adriel…" Eren's voice broke against his mouth, raw and pleading.
The sound undid him.
Adriel gave in fully, no more careful distance, no more leash on instinct. He devoured, worshipped, claimed in every way except the mark, his control fraying to its thinnest thread. And Eren—Eren welcomed him with abandon, opening, yielding, his own need burning just as fiercely.
The couch groaned beneath them as the fever built, their rhythm desperate, instinct driving them deeper into each other until the world outside ceased to exist.
And when it finally crested—when they both shattered, tangled and breathless—it wasn't just release. It was surrender. To need. To bond. To something far more dangerous than either of them had wanted to admit.
The night swallowed them in silence, the air still thick with the imprint of their pheromones, as they lay pressed together, trembling and spent.
The night quieted around them, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioner and the ragged rhythm of their breathing. Eren lay sprawled across Adriel's chest, his hair damp with sweat, his scent rich and intoxicating, still heavy in the air. Adriel's hand moved slowly over his back, tracing idle circles, grounding himself in the warmth of the omega curled against him.
For the first time in hours, Eren spoke—soft, teasing, but edged with honesty. "If you keep spoiling me like this, I'll never be able to live without you."
Adriel huffed out a low laugh, pressing his lips to Eren's temple. "That's the point."
Eren tilted his head up, curious. "The point?"
Adriel's expression had shifted. The teasing was gone, replaced by something darker, more dangerous. His amber eyes burned as he studied Eren's face, every instinct in him clawing for release. He'd come so close tonight—so close to sinking his teeth into that soft skin, sealing him forever. The ache of restraint was still gnawing at his chest.
"Red…" His voice was rough, almost a growl. He lifted his hand to cup Eren's jaw, thumb brushing across swollen lips. "I can't do this halfway anymore."
Eren blinked, pulse quickening. "Adriel…?"
Adriel leaned closer, his breath hot against Eren's ear, his pheromones tightening the air between them.
"Let me mark you."
The words dropped like a strike of lightning—raw, heavy, final.
Eren froze, eyes widening, his body going still against him.
Adriel's grip tightened just slightly, desperate and tender all at once. "Bond with me. Permanently. No more hiding. No more risk. You're mine, Red—and I need the whole damn world to know it."
Silence stretched, charged, dangerous. Eren's lips parted as if to answer—