Page 15 of Such a Sweet Omega

“Can I kiss you, omega?” he asked, brushing some of my hair from my face.

“Please,” I whined and swayed into his hold. Where I’d wanted to be so badly.

He bent ever so slightly and his full lips pressed against mine. I stepped back, but he caught me, moving me to press against his body. It was a simple kiss. No tongue. No open mouth. No moaning.

Still, I was hotter than I’d ever been. My cock punched against the front of my pants, begging to be freed.

“Oh,” I said as he pulled away.

“You’re so sexy, Beale. I can’t wait until Friday night. Go on and go home before I change my mind.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jabez

Friday took forever to arrive. Normally, I would have been at the club that night, but I didn’t have any particular assignments, so I wasn’t strictly lying and would have no problem not being there. While I had looked forward to an evening hanging out at the club, I was much more excited about spending an evening getting to know Beale. My wolf was 100 percent sure he was our omega despite the fact that I told him we’d already had one. Fate would not be so kind as to bestow a second true mate on us, especially after I let the first one die on my watch.

It was more than survivor’s guilt that motivated my avoidance of any kind of serious future relationships. I should have known something was wrong. I lived with that omega for a few years, slept with him every night I wasn’t on duty during my training, knew his body better than my own, and yet, I didn’t recognize his state of health until it was too late?

I almost stopped practicing at that point, doubtful of my abilities, despite my mentor’s insistence that there was no way I could have known. And he pointed out all the people who I’d saved with the skills I’d gained. My omega had deliberately kept something important from me, something he’d known nearly his whole life. A weakness that would probably never have been an issue had he obeyed his healer’s instructions and avoided pregnancy.

It was so rare, my mentor had never seen it in all his decades in practice, although he had read about it. And of course, I’d never asked why he was on birth control when we met. It seemed logical enough not to want to get pregnant before finding his true mate. I also never asked if there was any life-threateningreason not to get pregnant. What alpha would even think to ask that? As my mentor put it to me, “The lie of omission killed him.”

So I continued as a healer, learning everything I could about any condition that could affect a shifter, both common and rare. Became an expert to the point I traveled several times a year to speak on the subject. Also, that contributed to the long hours I put in. And I was very glad to be consulted. If I could spare one omega what happened to mine, one alpha the loss of his mate, or vice versa, I was all there for it.

Beale, I’d noticed, would tell white lies to avoid upsetting people, and that was something we’d have to deal with. I still wasn’t sure I could give myself fully to another mate, if indeed Fate had bestowed one upon us. But one thing I could do was have a fun evening out with Beale. Dinner and maybe a shift after?

I pulled up in front of his apartment building to find him reaching for something inside a car that looked even worse than he’d described. The tires weren’t bald, but they weren’t far from it. I wanted to have them replaced, but I’d probably already insulted him by suggesting the less expensive place for dinner. One thing at a time.

If he was my omega, he’d have to learn that money didn’t matter. I had more than him, and what I had would be spent in the best way for us both. If…so many ifs.

I parked behind the beat-up sedan and got out of the car. “Hi.”

Beale quickly closed the car door and took a step back as if he could disassociate himself from his mode of transportation. No wonder he walked most places. Forget replacing the tires. The whole thing looked like it would fall apart if someone sneezed too close to it. I hadn’t seen a bumper held on with baling wire since I left the pack. Where did you even find balingwire in the city? “Hello, sir. I was just getting, I mean, I left my wallet in here earlier.”

“Not good, huh?” Not very responsible. “Do you usually leave it there?”

“No, it fell out of my pocket earlier, and I was afraid I’d lost it.”

“I see. Glad you found it.” I took his hand and linked our fingers. “Do you need to go back inside for anything?”

“No. I’m ready to go.” He was wearing a light jacket this evening, but it wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been lately, so he should be fine. “I’ve been looking forward to this evening all week.”

“Me too.” I leaned in and brushed a soft kiss over his warm lips. “And to that.”

He let out a sigh. “Yes, sir.”

“I think we can leave ‘sir’ in the club or if we scene somewhere else. For now, Jabez is good.”

“Okay, Jabez.”

I helped him into the car and reached across to pull his seat belt into place, clicked it closed. “There you go. All safe and sound. Let’s go eat dinner. I’m starving. I skipped lunch, in fact.”

“Me too,” he said then snapped his lips closed as if it had been a big admission.

Was he short on food? I might not be able to do much about his car yet, but I would not stand for him going hungry. My wolf growled so loud, I drew a startled gaze from the omega.

“Is your wolf mad?”

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