Page 78 of Omega's Refuge

“Without a doubt.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, lust sparking in his eyes. “Areyousure, Tanner? I only want to claim an omega once There will be no going back from this. I’m not a fool like Steve. Once you're mine, you're mine.”

A thrill shot through me at his rumbling, greedy voice. “If I'm honest, I’m kind of in shockat what’s happening.” I sighed. “But at least now I have options because of your kindness and chivalry.”

He grimaced. “I'm no saint. I'm not just doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I'm being selfish.”

“So am I. You’ve thrown me a lifeline and I’m grabbing hold. But we have a good foundation of friendship, and I have hope we'll be a good pairing.”

“We will be,” he said confidently. “You’re making the right decision, Tanner. Take it from me—you need to live the life you want, not the one everyone else thinks you should.”

I gave a weak smile. “It's pretty sad that we both had to almost die to come to that realization.”

“That it is. But at least we woke up before it was too late.”

“Yes.”

“Now.” He let out a shaky breath. “I’m going to go back to the ranch before I get myself in trouble.” He gave a gruff laugh. “I’ll call Jack tonight and see about selling your art, and I’ll pick you up tomorrow when they discharge you.”

“Okay.” My cheeks were warm as he held my gaze. “This is so weird, right?”

He nodded. “Weird but amazing.”

“Yeah.”

He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss, staring into my eyes once he pulled his mouth from mine. “I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy, Tanner. Trust me.”

“I do.”

I did trust Rex—as much as I could trust anyone after what I’d been through with Steve. I believed Rex would do his best to be a good alpha. I, in turn, would do my best to make sure he never regretted taking on this responsibility. Because, whether I wanted those insecurities to linger or not, deep down, they were still there.

****

While Rex and I were excited about beginning our new life together, Mrs. Rodwell looked less than enthused when I arrived at the ranch the next day. She forced a smile when she greeted us outside my cabin, but her eyes held no warmth.

“Rex informed me of the situation.” Her voice was stiff. “To say I’m surprised would be an understatement.”

My cheeks warmed at her obvious disapproval. “It’s a surprise to us too.”

Rex shifted uneasily. “A good surprise.”

Mrs. Rodwell flicked her gaze to him. “Of course. I know Rex has wanted an omega for some time now.” Her tone seemed to imply any omega would have done. I found her displeasure of our union odd. She'd implied her initial problem with me had been she’d worried I was leading Rex on.But now I was going to stay here as his omega. Shouldn’t she have been happy for him?

“I assume Rex told you about the baby?” I asked.

Her gaze flickered. “He did. From what I understand it’s Mr. Turlington’s child?”

“Yes.” I touched my stomach defensively.

She flicked her gaze to Rex once more, looking uneasy. “Does Mr. Turlington know about the baby? I certainly wouldn’t want him showing up here starting trouble.”

“I haven’t decided whether to tell him yet or not.” I grimaced. “I need to figure that out. It’s all still really new.”

Mrs. Rodwell nodded. “You should probably tell him. Alphas deserve to know if they’ve sired offspring, even if they don’t want to be with the omega any longer.”

She always managed to say things in a way that ended up making me feel bad about myself. I wasn’t sure if she did that intentionally, or if she was simply naturally tactless.

“I just need time to think about things,” I murmured.

“I’m sure Tanner will make the decision that works best for him.” Rex gave me an encouraging smile.

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