[BL]Reborn as the Empire's Most Desired Omega

Trevor chuckled under his breath, leaning a little closer. "Then go ahead. Arrest me."

Lucas made a noise that could only be described as a half-hearted growl. "Don’t tempt me. I’m half an inch from throwing myself into the icebox and the other half from climbing into your lap."

"You’re allowed to do both," Trevor said mildly. "Though I recommend one before the other."

Lucas shot him a look, but it lacked real venom. He was flushed, a little glassy-eyed, and clearly trying to preserve the last sliver of his composure with what dignity remained. "I hate this. I hate feeling like I’m crawling out of my own skin."

"I know." Trevor murmured, steady and grounding. "Come on. Let’s move somewhere cooler. Windstone had our room set up like a freezer."

Lucas gave a soft, approving hum, too warm and dizzy to argue, but still sounding vaguely judgmental. "Remind me to give him a medal. Or an estate."

Trevor slipped an arm around his waist, taking care not to crowd him, and led him out of the dining room with the same quiet confidence he used in war rooms. Every movement was timed, and each step was taken at Lucas’s pace rather than his own.

The night he’d spent reading Lucas’s memories, or at least what Lucas had allowed him to see, had left a permanent mark. Not just in his thoughts, but deep within his chest, like a quiet scar carved from understanding.

Lucas didn’t fear his cycle. He didn’t even fear the bond.

What he dreaded was the heat, the blistering kind that soaked into stone and refused to let go, the kind that turned polished marble into a mirror of every trapped summer he had endured. Heat baked silence into walls, made skin stick and thoughts blur, and transformed a body into something vulnerable, always waiting.