Page 83 of His Sassy Omega
I guess it had.
Fate was offering me everything I’d ever wanted. A mate, a pup, and it was all going to get taken away. At least the pup part, if Quinn stuck to his decision. I’d stand by him, I’d be there for him, whatever he needed. What I truly didn’t know was if after, when it was all over and said and done, if I’d be able to look at him the same way. Without resentment clouding my judgement. Knowing he’d taken away one of the things I desperately longed for.
I heard his quiet footsteps on the carpet, slow and tired. I straightened up, opening my eyes. He looked exhausted and haunted, and so fucking beautiful it made me ache. He looked how I felt. He swayed a little and I sprang forward, wrapping my arms around his thin frame. He sagged, then seemed to catch himself.
“Sorry, I’m just really tired. Can you take me to my place? I just want my own bed.”
“Of course. Let me get your coat.” This wasn’t at all how I’d planned it in my head, for him to see my home for the first time. He’d seen my foyer, the grand staircase leading to the upstairs rooms, the hallway and library. Really nothing at all. But if he wanted to be home tonight, in his own bed, with his own things around him, I didn’t blame him.
The drive took longer than usual with the weather, and I drove slower than I normally would. I had precious cargo in the car, and I wanted them safe. My alpha protective instincts seemed to have tripled with the knowledge of Quinn’s pregnancy.
I ushered him straight into his bedroom when we made it safely to his place. I stood in the doorway, as he started undressing, almost on autopilot. Not sure if I should stay or go, or what I should do. We’d left Quinn’s carat my mom’s since he’d not been in any shape to drive when we’d gone to my house. I didn’t like the idea of leaving him alone with no vehicle. But if he wanted me to leave, I would.
Quinn seemed to finally wake enough from his half-asleep state to notice me. He frowned, tossing his shirt in the general direction of the bathroom and the hamper. “What are you waiting on? Come to bed.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to stay.” I took a step fully into the room, and then another.
He shot me his annoyed look, which I was quickly getting used to seeing, and secretly starting to adore. He was so cute when he was trying to be pissed off. “Don’t annoy me. I’m too tired for it tonight. Come to bed.”
He slid beneath his blankets, his order issued and expected to be followed. I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see my smile. I quickly shed my clothes, slid in next to him, and turned out the light. If I’d thought there would be distance between us tonight, I was wrong. Quinn wrapped himself around me like the octopus he was in bed, his head tucked under my chin.
I stroked his back, and wished we could stay like this forever. I stared up at the ceiling in the darkness, willing my muscles to relax and sleep to come. Knowing it was probably a hopeless dream.
Quinn’s unexpected voice in the dark made me jump. I’d thought he’d drifted off to sleep.
“Aren’t you going to ask me?”
I closed my eyes, for just a second, then opened them. My fingers never stopped their petting of his lightly muscled back and his silky skin. “Ask you what?”
“If I’ve made a decision.”
“I thought you already had.”
The silence that filled the room was as thick as fog on a dark country road, late at night. I didn’t want to pin any amount of hope on his words, but I couldn’t help the little flare of joy, deep in my soul, that took hold.
“I…” He seemed unable, or unwilling, to finish his sentence. I was willing to wait him out. I didn’t think this was the time that I should push him. “I have. It’s what I want.”
He didn’t sound as sure as he had before, his voice wobbling. Hope flared inside me, but I refused to allow the joy to burn bright in me. Not yet.
Instead, I kissed the top of his curls resting under my chin. “Only you can make the choice. But I want you to know, whatever you decide, I’ll be with you. No matter what. We’ll get through this.”
“Will we?”
I let the whispered words hang in the air, not answering. I just tightened my arms around him, and held him closer.
Chapter Twenty
Quinn
I was certain neither Lachlan nor I had slept a wink the night before. I’d stared into space, at the wall, at my fingers. Lachlan had stared up at the ceiling, in between nuzzling his chin into the top of my head and brushing barely-there kisses into my curls. It was something he did often, and I was becoming used to it, and beginning to adore it.
When my alarm had blared through the walls of my bedroom, neither of us had said a word once I’d silenced its annoying sound. We’d gone right back to our staring. Until I’d pestered him to call Finn and beg him to let us come to the clinic, at the butt crack of the sun barely rising.
I’d called my mom, and told her we’d had a last-minute errand this morning. No, it couldn’t wait even though it was Christmas, and we’d be there in a few hours. To not wait breakfast on us. Just the thought of putting scrambled eggs or French toast in my mouth made me want to vomit. I may have hinted – flat out lied – that the last-minute errand was for a must have gift for her, that I just knew she would love. Now I had to come up withsomething, and stop and pick it up. If anything besides a convenience store was even open today.
Lachlan had listened, his eyes growing big as the lies had spilled from my lips, and I’d shrugged my shoulders helplessly. I was just glad my mom had answered my parents’ landline, and not my dad. I’d never been able to lie to him. The man could sense a fib from me, before the words even left my mouth. Mom, not so much. Not that I made a habit of lying to my parents, but I had been a normal teen, doing normal teen things, that you just didn’t need your parents knowing about.
Which was how I now found myself lying on a cold, padded exam table, shirt pulled up to my neck. Jeans open and folded over to the sides. My flat stomach exposed to the cold gel smeared across it, as Finn ran a hard bulb thingy over my tummy. I winced when he pressed a little too hard. My bladder was so full, I thought there was a high likelihood I might piss myself.
