Page 20 of Such a Shy Omega

“You don’t like meat?” he asked. “My wolf is always starving for it.”

I sighed. “Sometimes I am stuck in the old ways. I love meat. My wolf does too.”

He stopped everything and came over to hug me. “You’ve been exposed to some hurtful ways to do things, Heath. Those scars aren’t going to disappear overnight. Trauma can appear out of nowhere. It creates patterns of behavior we’re not even aware of. As long as we’re honest with each other and open, we’ll figure out these things together. But, for now, can you focus on what you want? Not me. Not alphas. Not the world. Not expectations. What does Heath want?”

“A life with you. My job. Happiness. Peace. Freedom. Making my own money. Making decisions for myself. A life with you.”

He chuckled. “I want a life with you, too, omega mine. I wouldn’t have marked you if I didn’t. Let’s eat and talk about our new life together.”

We ended up eating and then not doing a lot of talking. When the day faded into the afternoon, I looked at the clock, lamenting the fact I had to go to work that night. I liked my job but, even though I’d just met and mated with Erik, it was hard to imagine being away from him.

“What’s that sigh for?” he asked, nuzzling my neck. We watched a movie together with me on his lap the entire time.

“I have to go to work tonight.”

“You do. It’s a shame, really. If you hadn’t just started, I would be a naughty alpha and encourage you to call in sick.”

“Call in sick? You can do that?” That was a thing?

“If you’re ill, no one expects you to go in to Cuffed. And also, the club is kept impeccably clean. You don’t want anyone else to catch something, right?”

His expression changed and softened. “Were you never allowed a day off in the pack?”

“Not really. Plus, we didn’t get ill. That was weakness. We just worked through it.”

Erik held me tighter. “Promise me that if you are tired or aren’t feeling well, you’ll call in, okay? I don’t want you to run yourself down.”

“I don’t even know how to call in sick.”

He laughed. “You phone the club and ask for your supervisor. If you can’t reach him, a manager or an owner. Give them your name and tell them that you’re sick. That’s it.”

“Won’t I get in trouble?” The thought of being reprimanded made my stomach turn, even though I couldn’t imagine one of the owners getting angry. They were all so controlled and calm.

“Not at all. The owners of Cuffed value their employees. Without them, there’s no club. No members. It all goes to hell.”

“Okay. I think I can do that.”

“Good. When do I have to take you back?”

I groaned and threw back my head. About thirty minutes.

“Hmm,” Erik said. He rubbed his hand along my groin. “What should we do to pass the time until then?”

“I can’t think of a thing,” I teased. Teased. That was a new thing. My mate had me experiencing all kinds of new, exciting things—drawing me out of my shell.

He knew how to so well.

“Really?” He chuckled and picked me up like I weighed nothing. “I have an idea.”

He brought me up to his bedroom and made me very, very late getting back home. I hurried through showering and getting dressed. Erik stayed to give me a ride to work but saying goodbye was harder than I expected.

“You’ll be there tonight?” I asked.

“Yes. Come see me on your break.”

“I will.”

Chapter Eighteen

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