Chapter 101: Unexpected Heat.

Bryce was deep in sleep when an unbearable heat spreading through his body dragged him awake.

He surfaced from sleep gasping for air, his skin damp with sweat, his breathing ragged as though he had been running.

The room was saturated with a sweet, intoxicating scent, something like chocolate-covered strawberries, so rich and potent that it made his head swim.

He could not understand where the scent was coming from until, a minute later, he realized it was radiating from his own body.

The heat pulsed beneath his own skin with every heartbeat, leaving him flushed, feverish, and painfully aware of every breath.

"What the fuck?" he muttered.

’I want him...’

BJJ’s voice registered inside his mind with startling clarity.

’Want who?’ Bryce asked, although he already knew exactly who BJJ meant. The thought alone sent another rush of heat through him, making it almost impossible to think clearly.

This is crazy.

The words repeated through his mind as he forced himself out of bed and stumbled toward the bathroom, desperate for anything that might cool him down.

’It’s our heat cycle. You awakened it on your own. This marks our very first heat cycle, and from now on, it will come every twentieth of the month,’ BJJ insisted.

’What?!’

Bryce could not decide what shocked him more: that he had awakened the heat cycle himself, or the knowledge that he would be overwhelmed by sexual desires every month.

He turned on the tap, caught the running water in his palms, and splashed it over his face but it did nothing to quell the furnace consuming him from within, nor the sensation that his blood itself had grown unbearably hot.

’How on earth did I awaken whatever this is? I didn’t do anything,’

’Admit it." BJJ answered immediately, "You want to be laid. You thought about it repeatedly last night, thinking about the two of them separately and then the three of you, together, in one bed. You even became aroused before going to sleep. That stirred our hormones and sent us into heat.’

Bryce did not argue this time because BJJ was telling the truth.

Something had been happening to him before he fell asleep.

With the two men he felt deeply attached to- under the same roof, his thoughts had refused to settle.

Again and again, his mind had returned to the possibility of the three of them abandoning all the complications between them, getting into bed together, kissing, touching, satisfying the longing between them, and eventually falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

He imagined waking up happy, without the weight of uncertainty hanging over them, simply enjoying each other’s company.

Sleeping alone had felt profoundly lonely. Both men were within his reach, close enough for him to sense their presence, and something inside him had begun to ache at the distance between them.

’How do I stop this?’ he asked after accepting that his own thoughts might have triggered this.

’Have him, or them,’ BJJ answered without hesitation.

’What? Stop joking around. This is getting serious.’ Bryce snapped inwardly.

There had to be another way to calm his body besides going to Vincent and telling him to fuck him.

That was not going to happen.

When BJJ insisted there was no other way, Bryce’s thoughts turned toward the power inside him.

’You’re only going to make it worse if you suppress it." BJJ warned immediately. "Other people use suppressants, and the more they suppress the heat or rut, the more the need accumulates. The next cycle becomes more intense and unbearable.’

Bryce ignored the warning.

He wanted the heat to stop. Whatever consequences came later, he would deal with them when the time arrived.

Perhaps by then, everything between the three of them would be less complicated, and when the heat came, he would simply give his body what it craved, without the hesitation, confusion, or resistance tearing through him now.

_

Slowly, the potent scent began to dissipate from the air, followed by the oppressive heat and the unbearable desires that had consumed him from within.

His body gradually began to settle, and the feverish intensity that had threatened to overwhelm his senses finally receded.

What made no sense was that his erection did not.

Bryce stared down at himself in disbelief, unable to understand how the rest of his symptoms could have vanished while that particular problem stubbornly remained.

A moment later, a knock sounded against the door, startling him.

He hurried out of the bathroom and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over himself at once in a desperate attempt to conceal the unmistakable evidence of his arousal.

There was no way he was going to let anyone see him like this.

He waited until he had settled himself beneath the covers before giving permission.

"Yes..." he called, forcing his voice into a rough, sluggish drawl that sounded as though he had only just woken up, even though the heat had already driven every trace of sleep from him.

The door opened, and Vincent stepped inside.

His scent reached Bryce before he could properly look at him.

It was strong, intoxicating, and distinctly masculine, carrying notes that reminded him of sandalwood, oud, and musk. The moment it entered his lungs, Bryce stopped breathing for a second.

His gaze finally settled on Vincent, and somehow, the sight of him was even worse.

He was dressed in a black vest that clung to his broad chest and shoulders, revealing the powerful build beneath the fabric. And black jeans which were almost tight, outlining far more of his body than Bryce was prepared to notice.

The combination gave him a casual, effortlessly attractive appearance that was also more seductive than anything Bryce had ever seen him wear before.

His face was slightly flushed, and there was a visible tension throughout his body. Bryce could see it in the muscles exposed by the vest, the subtle strain running through them as though Vincent himself was struggling with something.

Bryce immediately closed his eyes.

He needed a second. Something to hold on to before his mind completely abandoned him.

Was Vincent trying to seduce him right now, or what the hell was happening?

The heat returned with startling force.

It rushed through Bryce’s body again, hotter and more consuming than before, while the scent surrounding Vincent seemed to make every nerve inside him painfully alert.

Bryce swallowed hard, suddenly wondering whether his natural suppressant had somehow stopped working.

Because if it had, then what the hell was happening to him?

Why was he on the verge of throwing himself at Vincent?

"Good morning," Vincent greeted.

Even his voice was noticeably tight, despite the effort he seemed to be making to sound normal.

"Hey," Bryce answered stiffly.

"How did you sleep?" Vincent asked, remaining near the doorway.

"Not bad. You?"

"I barely had any sleep. You actually kept me awake. I was thinking about you almost all night."

What?!

Bryce screamed internally.

His body reacted instantly to the words, the simple confession striking him with almost the same force as Vincent’s scent.

Was Vincent seriously doing this?

Did he think showing up in a black vest and tight jeans, smelling so intoxicating that Bryce could barely breathe, at the exact moment Bryce was already struggling to keep himself together, was not enough?

Apparently, he had decided to add flirtation to the situation.

Bryce’s suspicion hardened into certainty.

Vincent was actually trying to seduce him.

Heaven help him.

Someone needed to chain him to this bed before he did something he would regret, because Bryce was absolutely not about to let Vincent see just how desperately he wanted him in that very moment.