Page 15 of A Home for His Omega

Eventually, Tomás pulled away, breaking the kiss with a low moan. Henry watched him in a daze, body burning hotter than it ever had.

“You are addictive.” Tomás stood straight, eyes flaming with need. “Pour me a glass of wine?”

“Sure,” Henry said, voice raspy. Hands trembling, he grabbed the bottle of wine. “It’s, um, been a while for me, and my last relationship was a mess. Well, every relationship I’ve had has been a mess. What about you?”

Tomás shrugged and took the glass Henry offered. “I’ve dated a bit, but never anything serious.” His dark eyes heated as he stared at Henry. “Never met anyone I was interested in. Until now.”

“Hmm.” Henry sipped his wine, hiding his pleased smile. “That’s good to know.”

A few moments later, Tomás set a steaming plate in front of him. “When I moved here, all I could do was focus on adjusting to suddenly having a family, people who cared about me. There wasn’t room for anything else. It’s been a few years now, and I’m in a good place. You… there’s something about you I need.”

Henry swallowed hard. “You make me feel like I’m something special. I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’m just me. Completely useless except for my money.”

Tomás’s eyes narrowed. “Someone made you feel that way, maybe a lot of someones, but I think you know it’s not true.”

Henry sat, quiet and flustered, looking around the cozy kitchen for a moment, gaze finally latching onto the calm and steady alpha sitting across from him, eyes gentle and knowing.

“I don’t understand you,” Henry said, voice breaking. “You’re strong, handsome, and smart with a million people that care about you. Fuck, you’re self-aware and empowered at what? Twenty-one?”

“Twenty-two.”

“Oh, twenty-two. Yeah, that makes a difference.” Henry rolled his eyes. “Why would you want to spend time with someone like me?”

“I don’t need a reason.” Tomás reached across the table and laid his hand over Henry’s. “Listen, some wounds take longer to heal than others. I’ve felt useless before, stupid and unlovable. It took some time to change that. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“Your family helped you.” Henry pulled his hand away. “Is that why you want to help me? To pay it forward?”

Tomás smirked. “Yeah, I’m not that selfless. First of all, you don’t need me to learn how to accept and love yourself. Only you can do that. Second, I want to be the one beside you. To spend time with you, get to know you. Maybe I’m meant to be your person and you, mine. Plus, I’d really like to fuck you. That’s definitely not selfless.”

Henry laughed hard enough to snort again. “You have such a way with words.”

Tomás nodded solemnly. “It’s a gift and a curse.”

“Teague and Sam are going to make me a partner in the sanctuary,” he blurted out. “They trust me. This is Teague’s dream and he wants me to be a part of it.”

Tomás’s smile grew. “And you think you’re useless? Clearly bullshit.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Now, how about we eat dinner, then go play with the dogs?”

Henry grinned, feeling light as air. “Best date ever.”

Tomás

Acouple of weeks later, Tomás sat on the floor of Columbo’s room and watched Henry bottle feed puppies. This was his favorite way of watching the omega. Henry was so confident when he was with animals, his smile natural and beautiful.

They’d met up every night since their first date, sometimes eating dinner at Tomás’s house and sometimes with Aunt Mia and the others. He hadn’t lied to Henry when he’d told him he wanted to spend time with him. Tomás didn’t want to be away from his omega for even a moment. Which was why he was spending his lunch break at the sanctuary.

It was a cozy lunch, at least. Mitzy and Journey slept curled in a dog bed next to Columbo’s cage while the parrot perched on a stand near Henry. His omega’s chicken, Sophie, sat near the dogs, gently pecking the bedding. Aunt Mia had even brought them sandwiches.

“The girl who brought the puppies in said her dad was going to throw them in the lake.” Henry looked up, eyes full of anger. “I’d like to put him in a bag and throw him in a cold lake to see how he likes it.”

Tomás nodded, petting the little pup he was feeding. It was teeny tiny with white fur and a pink nose. “I’ll help you.”

“She said he told her that their dog had too many puppies to take care of.” Henry gently placed the puppy he held back in the padded laundry basket with the other puppies and took another out to feed. “That doesn’t justify killing some of the puppies. If mama dog can’t care for all her puppies, then it’s the human’s responsibility to help.”

“How many did she have?” Tomás peeked into the basket and counted. There were ten puppies counting the two they were feeding.

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