Page 122 of Citius

His response came in the form of a sweet, reassuring kiss. “Thank you.”

Cal poured himself an extra-large cup of coffee, then grabbed the most recent volume of my medical record. Taking the barstool beside me, he flipped to the back of the binder, starting with my latest blood test results.

“Your birthday’s tomorrow?” he asked. It was an unexpected opening salvo for what would undoubtedly be a long line of questions.

I nodded, focused on adding the last few pills to the organizer.

“Do you want anything?” Cal drummed his fingers against thecountertop. “We could get dinner if you don’t have plans with your family.”

“You’ve already given me plenty,” I said, shutting the compartment lids one at a time.

“It’s not a gift if you reimburse me for everything.”

“Then hand over your sweater,” I teased, snapping the final lid closed, “and we’ll call it even.”

“I knew it.” Cal feigned heartbreak with a dramatic turn of the page. “This was all a ruse to get your hands on my sweaters.”

Leaning over, I kissed his stubbled jaw. “And don’t you forget it.”

After returning the basket of prescription pills to the medical supply cabinet and placing my pill organizer on the counter, I made myself a cup of ginger tea.

“Am I safe to assume you’d like to change your heat plan?” Cal asked in a pinched but light tone. Not forced in the slightest, except for the faint drag of his molars.

He was trying to balance the newness of our relationship with the peculiar reality of life as an omega—because he was staring at a formal agreement for me to fuck several anonymous alphas in December.

“Shit, I totally forgot,” I muttered, tossing my teabag in the garbage and feeling like a complete ass. I might not be monogamous by nature, but surely, I could do better than this. “Ignore that, please. I’m sorry. Heats and I… We just don’t mesh. It’s always a mess. I haven’t even submitted the heat leave request paperwork. Six weeks is enough leeway for approval—right?”

“Your commitment to wriggling out of a heat is unmatched, Dr. Van Daal. I pity your designation counselor,” he teased, skimming through the rest of the heat reservation paperwork with a frown before turning the page. “But I’m down for it—if you are.”

“It’s…” I sighed, carrying my tea to lean against the island counter beside him. “Probably not going to be a pleasant experience.”

“For me?” he asked, turning in his seat and wrapping a hand around my hip to gently guide me between his legs. “Or for you?”

“Either. Both. Does it matter?”

The corners of his mouth curled upward. “If last night is anything to go by…”

I shook my head—inadvertently triggering a sharp throb of pain—and frowned. “You haven’t seen me during a heat.”

“No, I haven’t.” He cradled my face, his thumbs massaging my aching temples. “But we’ve got time, Morgan, and I’m a quick study.”

I had no doubt Cal would devote his considerable intellect to reducingme to a puddle of satiated goo. “Are you sure?”

Cal nodded and kissed me, trying to convince me further with subtle flicks of his tongue. I had no choice but to set my tea aside and kiss him back in earnest, marveling at the reassuring breadth of his body and the size of the hands trailing along my curves.

The experience was more than a little surreal.

I finally had a handsome alpha to fool around with on my birthday. It only took a decade, but hey—who’s counting?

***

“Special delivery!” Rory came bounding into the home gym the following morning, wearing the cursed narwhal onesie. The hood was pulled up over his auburn hair, the plush horn flopping with every step, holding a bouquet of autumnal flowers and two Halloween-themed gift bags covered in sparkly ghosts and black cats. Being born on October thirtieth came with some delightfully spooky perks.

I stepped off the elliptical and reached for a towel to wipe away my sweat. “You weren’t supposed to get me anything.”

“I didn’t,” he said, pressing the flowers against my chest. “These were outside the front door when Piper left to grab her rideshare just now.”

My younger siblings had spent most of Sunday lazing in the TV room upstairs, and Piper and Rory had stayed with us for a second night.

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