Chapter 29: Fake Dating, Real Knotting -6

The Heat had broken sometime before dawn. Julian’s skin was no longer burning. His scent had settled into something softer, still sweet but no longer desperate. Marcus sat against the headboard with Julian half in his lap, fingers tracing idle patterns over the Omega’s bare hip.

Marcus’s voice stayed quiet. "I can’t keep pretending this is just for the cameras."

Julian looked up. "Marcus—"

"I’m serious." Marcus cupped his jaw and made him meet his eyes. "I want the real thing. Not the contract. Not the storyline. You. Permanent."

Julian’s breath caught. "You mean a mark."

"Yes." Marcus’s thumb stroked over the side of Julian’s neck, right where a mating bite would sit. "If you want it. If you want me. No more fake. No more exit clause."

Julian stared at him for a long second. Then he nodded once, slow and sure. "Do it."

Marcus kissed him soft and deep. He rolled them carefully so Julian lay on his back. Their mouths stayed joined while Marcus slicked himself and pressed in slow. Julian’s legs opened wider to take him. The stretch was easy now, familiar, still perfect. Marcus sank all the way in and stayed there, forehead pressed to Julian’s.

"Tell me again," Marcus murmured.

Julian’s hands slid into his hair. "Mark me. Make it real."

Marcus started moving in long, deep strokes. No rush. Every thrust was deliberate, hips rolling so he stayed buried as much as possible. Julian’s soft sounds filled the quiet room. Marcus kissed along his jaw, down the side of his throat, lingering over the spot he had chosen.

"You’re mine after this," Marcus said against his skin. "No more rivals. No more acting. Just us."

Julian’s back arched. "Yours. Please."

Marcus’s rhythm stayed steady and thorough. He wrapped a hand around Julian’s cock and stroked in time, thumb sliding over the head on every upstroke. Julian’s breathing turned shaky. His walls fluttered around Marcus’s cock.

"Come with me," Marcus whispered. "I want to feel you when I bite."

Julian’s body tightened. He came with a broken moan, spilling over Marcus’s fist while his insides clenched hard. Marcus followed right after, burying himself to the hilt and flooding him in long, hot pulses. At the exact peak he sank his teeth into the curve of Julian’s neck, breaking skin just enough to leave a permanent claim.

Julian cried out and came again from the intensity of it, shaking under him. Marcus licked over the fresh mark, soothing the sting while their bodies stayed locked together.

They stayed that way for a long time, breathing hard, Marcus’s tongue gentle over the bite. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were dark and sure.

"No more fake," he said.

Julian touched the mark with careful fingers, then pulled Marcus back down into a slow kiss.

"No more fake," he agreed.

Outside the world was waiting. Inside the room the bond had already settled, warm and irreversible, while Marcus stayed deep inside him and refused to let go.

---

The leak hit an hour before the finale. Blurry photos. Stolen stills from the trailer. A rival’s voiceover claiming the whole relationship was staged and that Marcus had forced every moment. The network wanted damage control. Julian and Marcus wanted blood.

They locked themselves in the backstage holding room ten minutes before they were due on stage. The live feed would start any second. Outside, producers shouted. Inside, the air was already thick with their scents.

Marcus shoved Julian against the makeup counter. "They’re calling us predators. Liars."

Julian’s eyes were bright and furious. "Then we go out there and show them exactly how real this is."

Marcus’s mouth crashed into his. The kiss was hard, claiming, all teeth and heat. Julian kissed back just as fierce, hands already yanking at Marcus’s belt. Marcus spun him around, bent him over the counter, and shoved his pants down in one pull.

"No time for slow," Marcus growled against his ear.

"Don’t want slow." Julian pushed back. "Want you. Now."

Marcus spit into his palm, slicked his cock, and thrust in hard. Julian’s breath punched out of him in a sharp, satisfied sound. Marcus started fucking him in deep, powerful strokes, one hand braced on the counter, the other wrapped around Julian’s throat just tight enough to feel the claim mark under his palm.

"You’re mine," Marcus said, voice rough. "Not a storyline. Not a stunt. Mine."

Julian moaned and shoved back to meet every thrust. "Yours. Prove it."

Marcus’s hips snapped harder. The wet sound of skin filled the small room. Julian’s cock leaked steadily onto the floor. Marcus reached around and stroked him in the same ruthless rhythm, fist tight, thumb smearing precome over the head.

"Come on my cock," Marcus ordered. "Then we walk out there and tell the whole fucking world."

Julian’s body locked up fast. He came hard, spilling over Marcus’s hand with a broken cry. The way he clenched dragged Marcus right over the edge. Marcus buried himself deep and came with a low snarl, flooding him in heavy pulses while his teeth grazed the mating mark on Julian’s neck.

They stayed locked together for three heartbeats, breathing hard. Marcus pulled out slow, watching his come slide down Julian’s thigh. He fixed Julian’s clothes first, then his own, wiping his hand clean on a towel like nothing had happened.

Julian’s voice was steady now. "Ready?"

Marcus kissed him once, hard and final. "Let’s go ruin that bastard’s night."

They walked out of the holding room together, the heavy scent of sex and claim still clinging to their skin. The stage lights hit them full force. The live audience roared. Marcus took Julian’s hand, lifted it so the cameras caught the matching look in their eyes, and spoke straight into the mic.

"Every photo was real. Every second was real. And anyone who has a problem with that can stay mad."

Julian leaned in, smiled for the cameras, and added, "We’re not fake. We’re just done hiding."

The studio exploded. Somewhere backstage a rival’s phone was already blowing up with the opposite of the reaction he had planned. On stage, Marcus kept his fingers laced tightly with Julian’s and refused to let go.

---

Chapter 12: Unscripted Future

Six months later the reality show was dead air and both of them had walked away clean. New contracts. Real scripts. A shared penthouse high above the city with floor-to-ceiling windows and zero cameras.

Julian stood at the glass in nothing but one of Marcus’s shirts, city lights painting gold across his bare thighs. Marcus came up behind him, arms sliding around his waist, mouth brushing the mating mark on his neck.

"You keep staring like that and I’m going to fuck you against the window," Marcus said.

Julian leaned back into him. "That’s the idea."

Marcus’s hands slipped under the shirt, palms warm on Julian’s stomach. "No crew. No schedule. No one waiting for a soundbite."

"Just us." Julian turned in his arms and kissed him slow. "So stop talking and take what’s yours."

Marcus walked him backward until Julian’s shoulders met the cool glass. The kiss deepened. Hands shoved the shirt up and off. Marcus dropped to his knees right there, took Julian’s cock into his mouth, and sucked him down in one smooth slide. Julian’s head thudded lightly against the window. His fingers threaded into Marcus’s hair.

"Fuck—your mouth—"

Marcus hummed around him and took him deeper, tongue working the underside, one hand stroking what he couldn’t fit. Julian’s hips twitched. Marcus held him still and kept the pace filthy and thorough until Julian was leaking steadily onto his tongue.

Marcus pulled off with a wet sound. "Bed. Now."

They barely made it. Marcus pushed him down onto the sheets, climbed over him, and kissed him like he had all night. Julian’s legs opened wide. Marcus slicked himself, lined up, and pressed in slow, inch by thick inch, until he was buried to the hilt.

He stayed there, forehead against Julian’s. "Still mine?"

Julian’s arms wound around his neck. "Always. Move."

Marcus started thrusting in deep, rolling strokes. No rush. Every push filled Julian completely. Their mouths stayed soft and open against each other. The city glittered behind the glass. Inside the room the only sounds were skin and breath and the low, broken noises Julian made every time Marcus bottomed out.

Marcus wrapped a hand around Julian’s cock and stroked in time. "Come for me. I want to feel it."

Julian’s back arched. He came hard, spilling over Marcus’s fist and his own stomach, walls clamping tight. Marcus followed right after, burying himself deep and flooding him in long, hot pulses while his mouth found the mating mark and sucked gently over it.

They stayed locked together, breathing hard. Marcus didn’t pull out. He just rolled them carefully onto their sides and kept Julian close, still buried inside him.

Julian’s voice was quiet and satisfied. "No more contracts. No more pretending."

Marcus kissed the corner of his mouth. "Just this. For as long as you want it."

Julian’s hips gave a small, lazy roll, feeling Marcus still hard inside him. "I want it again. Right now."

Marcus’s smile was dark and warm. He started moving once more, slower this time, deeper, the city lights watching through the glass while they took everything they had earned and made it last.