Chapter 4

Damian felt something pressed against his back side, and terror flooded him. His eyes flew open and he surveyed his surroundings.

He was in Tay's room in his bed. And Tay was in the bed pressed against his back sound asleep. His legs were molded to Damian's, meaning his hips were pressed against his as well. As well as his…

Damian turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Tay moved with him, draping his arm across his waist and burying his face in Damain's shoulder. His breath was warm against his neck as it wafted up gently.

He sighed and laid where he was. Tay didn't mean any harm. He helped him when he'd been in trouble and had called his parents when he'd been asleep. Even now, his presence made him feel at ease even though he'd been scared at first.

Tay shifted closer, his head going in his neck. Damian tried to move, but his arm was tight around him. He was caging him in as if he were possessive of him. Tay couldn't be possessive of him because Tay was into women.

"Relax," Tay said. His voice was groggy, but he didn't move. His fingers drummed against Damian's hips. "Your pheromones are going nuts. I don't want to have to fight off any other Alphas in my own home."

Damian swallowed a lump in his throat. He tapped Tay's arm repeatedly.

"Let me up," he said. Tay only tightened it, sending Damian's warning bells off louder in his head. "Tay, please. Tay, let me up!"

Tay sighed and moved, sitting up instead of rolling over. His dark hair was mussed and his eyes drooped with sleep. He leaned against the pillow and crossed his arms. The act made him nearly twice his size.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"You were pressed against me?" Damian posed it as a question to keep the panic from his voice.

Tay rubbed his eyes. "Why? We've done it before."

The other man sighed and tried to get up. Tay put a hand to his arm, stopping him with a gentle squeeze. Damian froze and took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

"Dame, I'd never hurt you. Not without your permission," the owner of the bed said. He trailed his hand down to Damian's, fingers clasping him gently.

"Without my permission?" Those words hung between them. Damian stared at Tay, wide eyes desperate for denial. "What are you talking about?"

Tay withdrew his hand and folded it under the other one. He hated the loon on his friend's face, but he couldn't blame him. After having the worst night of his life, Damian had woken up scared because Tay had acted on instinct and had hugged him in his sleep.

He watched him for a long while before getting out of bed. He left Damian in the room, ambling to the kitchen for coffee. He was beating himself up, and the only thing he could do was separate himself from Damian before he did something.

Damian's terrified pheromones followed him through the house. Tay had to release a burst of his own to push them out before they got the best of him. His instincts were telling him to protect the Omega, but he couldn't if he didn't control his own body.

He never wanted to make Damian feel that way again. He wasn't abusive towards him and for him to feel that meant Tay hadn't done his job as a competent Alpha. They weren't supposed to be scared. They were supposed to be protected.

"Tay?" Damian came around the island as the coffee pot was filling with dark liquid. "What's wrong?"

Tay shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."

Damian took his arm and turned him around. He searched his face for answers, but all Tay could do was look at him with indifference. He couldn't tell him because he didn't want to scare him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He released a soothing bout of pheromones to calm them both down. If he didn't, things were going to get worse than they already were.

"Would you stop?" Damian asked. "You're making me drunk."

Something about the way he spoke and what he said made Tay stop. The house began to smell like fresh linen again instead of rosewood. He took Damian's wrist and pressed it to his nose, inhaling deeply over several places. He smelled his detergent and body wash as well as Damian's natural scent of bergamot and vanilla.

But underneath all of that, there was another smell Tay had never smelled before. Cedar and licorice were faint but he found them nonetheless.

"Damian," he whispered. "I need you to take off your pants and underwear."

Damian's entire body went rigid. Fear permeated the room, thicker this time. Tay had to look up at his friend to make him focus.

"I'm not going to do anything, but I think I may have a way to figure out who did this," he muttered.

His mouth moving involuntarily, Damian stepped away from Tay and looked at him. Slowly, he pushed both pieces of fabric down his thighs. His hands shook but he couldn't push them past his knees.

Tay dropped to his knees in front of him. He brought his hands up to Damian's hips and held him in place. Slowly, he pressed his nose in the juncture of his hip and inhaled slowly.

Damian's body bucked on its own accord, and he let out a sad, strained noise. Tay rubbed his back gently as he probed his skin thoroughly. Domain put his hands on his shoulders to steady himself.

"Tay…" he whined. Tay was pressing his nose closer and closer to his groin. Damian was starting to really panic. He shoved at the other man's shoulder. "Tay, please. No more."

Luckily, Tay heeded his cries and pulled back. He figured out the smells and could identify the Alpha who had abused his Omega, if he ever saw him.

He pulled up first Damian's underwear then his shorts. He stood up slowly so as to not frighten the man anymore.

He pulled his friend to him and tucked his face in his neck. Damian sucked in a breath and it shuttered out as he clung to Tay.

"I'm sorry," Tay apologized. He held Damian as close as he could. "I smelled something different on your skin and I had to figure out what it was. My hunch was it would be stronger down below. I'm sorry I hurt you."

Damian rubbed his nose in Tay's shoulder then rested his head against it. His shaking had subsided and were replaecd by a nervous hand in the skin since Tay was wasn't wearing a shirt.

"What did you find out?" he asked.

"Cedar and licorice where you smell of bergamot and vanilla. I've never smelled it before so it must be of him. If I can figure out where I've smelled it before, I can figure out who did it. It may come in handy," Tay replied. He rubbed Damian's back as soothingly as possible.

"Do you think it was a set up?"

Tay pushed him away gently. "I'm not sure. Until we find the asshole who did this, I won't know much else. Hopefully, the police can find out first. If I do, you won't want to see what I'll do."

Damian walked across the room and stood in front of the window overlooking the city. His broad back was outlined by the sun shining through the midday clouds. To anyone else, he was enjoying the scenery. To Tay, he was trying to collect his thoughts.

"Tay?" His name was spoken quietly, almost like he was afraid he'd vanish.

"Hmm?"

"Do you love me?" It was a loaded question, and one Tay didn't know how to answer. "If you love me, can I ask you a favor?"

Tay waited to answer. He had a feeling Damian wasn't done. If he interrupted now, the conversation could go any which way.

Damian turned to look at him. Now he looked like a child instead of the twenty-two year old he really was. He looked lost and small. He also looked as if he wasn't completely there either.

"Will you wash away everything he did?" he asked. "Will you get rid of his smell? I don't want to know that it's there."

Tay crossed the room and took him by the shoulders. He pressed his lips to his forehead, inhaling gently to bring his smell into his lungs.

Damian let out a shuddering breath and all but melted. He was tired and desperate. But that desperation could lead to disaster if he wasn't in the right mind to make the decision.

"Damian, I love you with every fiber of my being, but I can't do this for you," he said.

Damian looked up at him with a fractured face. "Why? Why can't you help me?"

Tay looked at that puppy face, and his heart broke. This man was trying to figure out how to make his battered soul heal, but he was going about it in a self-destructive manner. Tay had already been down this road, and he didn't want to see him crash and burn.

"Dame," he whispered. He pressed his forehead to his and sighed. "I will do anything you ask, except this. Because I know first hand it will not make you feel better in any way. You need to heal from the inside out, and doing that -having sex with me- will not help."

Damian dropped his head to Tay's shoulder and inhaled deeply. "If this had not happened, would you have me?"

The Alpha growled deeply before he lifted the Omega's face and brusquely kissed him. Damian made a strangled noise before clinging to Tay's arms.

Their mouths worked with each other's. One coaxed emotions from the other he wasn't sure he had.

Damian pulled away to breathe. His cheeks were bright red and his mouth was swollen from Tay's assault. Tay didn't let him stay away long, and they were kissing deeper than before. The intensity made Damian cling to Tay to stay in an upright position.

Tay gained some sense and pulled away. He stared down at the man in his arms before dipping his head once more to kiss him softly. Damian met eyes, emotions warring with each other.

"Damian, I will always have you. But to have you, we'll have to wait. I don't wnat it to be cheap because of last night," he said.

Overwhelmed, Damian swallowed hard. His bottom lip quivered slightly but he held it in.

"Can we go back to bed?" he asked. "I just want to sleep."

Tay smiled and nodded. He let Damian go before him so he could make two cups of coffee. He would do whatever Damian wanted as long as he remained calm. He would help him work through all of it for as long as he needed help.