Page 61 of Craving Their Omega

Something about that makes the mood shift instantly. All the playful energy has been sucked out of the room, and I feel weirdly deflated at the reminder of the boundaries we put in place around this thing.

It’s stupid, since I’m the one who wanted to make sure they weren’t going to expect things of me, but it still stings like being rejected to hear him say it like that.

Dominic and Xavier don’t say anything to contradict him, and the morning goes on with us all getting ready to head into work.

It’s a quiet car ride, except for me greeting and chatting shortly with Jonas, and I’m glad to escape into my office when I get the chance. Having work to bury myself in is much better than dwelling on why my feelings are hurt.

A couple hours later, I head to Xavier’s office with a stack of files in my hand. Once again, someone handed them off to me, offering to trade making a bunch of copies for me running these up to Xavier. It seemed like an easy thing to agree to.

I knock on the door once and then let myself in.

“Good afternoon,” I say. “Someone downstairs…” I trail off as I look up and take in the scene.

Xavier isn’t alone in his office, for one thing. Sienna is there, standing just to the side of his chair and leaning down into his personal space. She’s so close, and her hand is on his chest. There’s something almost proprietary about the way she adjusts his tie, a smile curling her red lips.

My stomach drops and all of a sudden I feel like I might be sick. The last thing I want to do is stick around to see more of whatever that was, so I drop the files in a nearby chair and turn to leave as quickly as I came in.

“Penelope? Wait, hold on,” Xavier calls after me, but I don’t stop. I keep walking, trying to get to the elevator, but Xavier has longer legs than I do, so he catches up quickly. “Are you okay?” he asks.

I laugh, and it sounds bitter. I can’t help the curl of jealousy in my chest and the way it makes me want to lash out. “Sure,” I reply. “I’m totally fine. Is that how you do things here? You just get cozy with all your assistants? Is she next after me?”

Xavier’s brow furrows and he looks down at me, face stunned. “Of course not. Why would you think that? You’re my wife, Pen.”

“But I’m not your mate. This isn’t real, and we both know it. It’s not a real relationship, so there’s no reason to—” I cut myself off, lowering my voice. “We both know what this is.”

Xavier opens his mouth and then closes it again without saying anything. He rubs at the back of his head, and it’s pretty clear he doesn’t have an argument against my point.

The lack of response just deflates me even further, putting a strange ache in my chest.

We all knew what this was going into it. Or at least we were supposed to. But then I went and got… I don’t know. Attached. And I shouldn’t have, clearly. Because no matter what’s happened between us, the rules are still in place. For the men they are anyway. Tristan doesn’t want to touch me, and Xavier is already lining up his next conquest. It makes me feel oddly alone in all this, and I take a deep breath and sigh it out.

“I knew this was going to be complicated going into it,” I mutter. “But this is a whole other thing. At least when I was with Wesley it was simple. I knew what he wanted.”

Even if it didn’t go both ways, at least I knew the role I played with him.

Xavier steps closer to me as I finish speaking, his eyes narrowing. He lowers his head so he can speak quietly, and his voice is low and rough. “Say his name one more time.”

I blink in confusion. “What?”

“Say his name one more time, Pen. Go on. I’d love to fuck it right out of your vocabulary.”

My eyes snap open wide at that, and my body responds instantly. Heat pulses through me, my lower half clenching with anticipation. But at the same time, anger and confusion are fighting a battle with being turned on. Because what?

Weren’t we just talking about how this isn’t real between us?

Part of me wants Xavier to follow through on that threat. It’s the same part that was so shameless last night, letting him talk me through getting off and watch the whole process. It wants him to drag me to the bathroom or back to his office and bend me over the desk so he can make good on what he just said.

But there’s another part of me that’s yelling that none of this is real and I can’t let myself keep getting caught up in it. It’s not a real relationship. If I keep letting these men rile me up and give me warm feelings, I’m only going to get hurt in the end.

Xavier’s eyes are intent as he stares down at me, like he’s waiting for me to make a move. I just stare back, heart pounding so loud he can probably hear it.

There’s so much tension and heat, and it’s a good thing we’re in a quiet part of the office or everyone else would be watching this right now.

Thinking about my coworkers is effective as a splash of water to the face, and I drag in a deep breath and step away from him.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I murmur. “I’m going to take a long lunch.”

Chapter 23

---