Page 20 of What A Croc
Robert smirked and snorted inelegantly. “Oh Goddess, that’s a depressing topic too! Maybe we should stick to the easy get-to-know you questions we talked about. Like…what’s your favorite color?”
I couldn’t blame the man for not wanting to talk about his ex, especially after I had just unloaded my whole, depressing story, so I mustered up a grin for him. I definitely wanted to get this date back to the fun, flirty mood we had been leaning towards earlier.
“Pink,” I told him, waggling my eyebrows and popping a bite of my tender steak in my mouth. “At least when one very sexy omega wears it.”
Chapter Nine
Robert
Heat flushed my face at Jackson’s low, sultry words, and I had to look away from his heated gaze. While I had enjoyed our light flirting via text this week, being flirted with by the man sitting across the short distance from me was another thing entirely. My body didn’t know what to do with itself.
My temperature felt like it rose twenty degrees with him staring at me. Gripping my water glass tightly, I brought it to my lips. Stifling the urge to run the cold glass over my slightly damp forehead. I really was feeling way too hot. This was much more than Jackson’s cheeky flirting or being near the sexy alpha. A shiver ran through me, and my stomach tossedfitfully.
“Robert,” Jackson grasped my hand across the table, his voice laced with concern, “are you okay? You’ve gone very pale.”
“I–” gulping, I swallowed hard as a wave of nausea hit me. “I’m sorry. I’m not feeling very well all of a sudden.” Dabbing my napkin at my brow, I gave him a wan smile.
He signaled to our waiter to bring the check. “Don’t be sorry, but I want to get you home. You really are pale.”
Our waiter rushed over with the check, looking concerned. “Is everything alright with your meal, Sirs?”
Jackson gave him a small smile, while helping me to my feet, even though I was capable of standing on my own. It was a sweet, protective gesture, and it warmed my heart.
And why are you pushing him away?My gazelle questioned.He’s super sweet.
Reasons.
Dumb ones.
Ignoring him, I tried to focus on what Jackson was saying. My head felt muddled and it was becoming hard to think clearly.
“It was delicious,” Jackson assured the man, “but my mate isn’t feeling well, I’m afraid. We’ll come back another time and fully enjoy everything then.”
The waiter let out a small, relieved sigh, then wrinkled his nose. Lowering his voice, he said, “I think your mate isn’t sick, Sir. I think he might be in heat.”
Jackson subtly sniffed the air, and I watched as his eyes widened, his pupils dark and enlarged. He shifted in his seat as he audibly drew in a breath.
“I believe you are correct,” his words came out tight, like he had trouble getting them past his lips.
What? Heat? I can’t be in heat.
It was impossible. No, I was coming down with something, that was all. I hadn’t had a heat in over a year. Dr. Sinclair had assured me that my body was beginning the omega change. This was just one of the heat flashes I had read about. Though my slick was dampening my underwear enough to be this side of uncomfortable, which was strange. I had assumed the slick I had produced earlier was a direct response to being near Jackson. Perhaps it was a side effect of my omega change? Though from what I had read, it usually caused the exact opposite. Omegas produced less slick, and I had already felt some of that in my own body. My slick production had been much less than even a few years ago. Though, that could also have been a direct result of no longer being attracted to my alpha. Jane and I hadn’t been on the best of terms for years, merely tolerating each other’s presence.
Jackson settled the bill and left a generous tip, before he ushered us out of the restaurant. His cool palm on my lower back as he steered me felt warm, likely because my skin was so hot, and I relished the weight of it, leaning into him as he walked us to his car. Once again, he opened thedoor and settled me on the seat. His nostrils flared as my shaking fingers fumbled with the seatbelt. Leaning over me, he snapped the belt, and his scent filled my nostrils.
Warm alpha, musk, and that dark, rich something that was all Jackson. My dick instantly hardened, pushing insistently at the zipper of my jeans. Desire slammed into me so fast it nearly took my breath away. Gripping the edges of the car seat, I panted.
Jackson turned his head, his body leaning over me, and his lips were right there. Looking all red and lush, close enough I could feel his breath, and I needed to taste him. Now.
His eyes darkened, his pupils filling them and turning them more muddy brown than green.
“Robert,” he moaned, as one of my hands grabbed him by the nape of his neck and pulled him into me. His lips landed over mine, my tongue demanding entrance to his mouth.
I had never been the aggressor before and it felt wild and freeing, but I needed this man like I needed water to drink. He leaned into me, the weight of him pressing me into my seat and it feltso fucking good! It had been so long since I had been with an alpha male, and I had forgotten just how different it was from being with an alpha female. Forgotten how much I loved the feel of a man on top of me, his heaviness and strength surrounding me like a comforting blanket.
The kiss was rough, sloppy, but absolute perfection. So very different from our first kiss. This kiss screamed of need, of lust and desire, of something primal and older than the both of us.
Jackson pulled back, gasping for air, his forehead resting against mine. My head was cloudy, much cloudier than it had been in the restaurant. Heat consumed me, burning me from the inside out and I could feel my slick making my underwear wet where it pooled.
