Page 12 of Unable Omega
That stopped him in his tracks. “I had to get you away from Zenith.”
“Why? Is he a bad person?” Dragging information out of this alpha was more painful than the injections.
“What? No. Zenith is one of the best people I know. He’s the youngest in our sleuth, but he’s so smart. Most of the time I don’t even know what he’s talking about. He runs all the tech for us. All the computers and security. Everything relies on him.”
I found the nearest chair and flopped down on it, more confused than ever. Sure, I had a niggling in the back of my mind about what was happening, but other than Rob’s manic rushing me out of there and consoling me after my nightmare, I had no other inkling he even cared if I took another breath. “Then why? If it’s not him, did I do something wrong? Something to offend you or your bear?”
He rounded the bed and sat on the corner. His knees nearly brushed mine. “You were too close to him. Not your fault. Clearly, he was doing it on purpose to prove a point.”
“And that would be…”
My mate looked up. His expression had changed. Instead of the hard lines and squinting eyes, his gaze had softened and his shoulders slumped. “Are you really going to make me say it, Sage?”
I scoffed and scooted to the edge of the chair. “After the hot and cold treatment you’ve given me since I got here. Abso-fucking-lutely.” I had used the F word more times since being around Rob than in my whole life. He brought out the fuck in me, and not the way I wanted.
“How?”
The audacity of this bear. “How what? How have you treated me hot and cold? Oh, I don’t know. You hardly make eye contact. You scoffed your way through my whole story of what happened to me at the lab. You didn’t believe me when I said I can’t remember a lot of my experience. You hugged me and comforted me after my nightmare the other night and then walked away as though you realized I carried the plague. You brought me food but then looked at the floor while I shared things about myself. You try not to touch me. You make sure our interactions are as minimal as possible and then cart me out of the kitchen like some…”
“Like some what, omega? Tell me. Like some what?”
I shook my head. No. He wasn’t getting out of this. My body shook with the impact of him calling me omega. It meant something to me even if it meant zero to him. “No. I’m not saying it. You need to explain. I’ve told you everything about me. Everything that I can remember. I’ve tried to talk to you, connect with you and you push me away. It’s time for you to talk…alpha.”
He bristled at my words, my tone? Maybe me calling him alpha affected him as much as him calling me omega. I hoped so. He needed a taste of his own medicine. I hated the tension between us and I wouldn’t take it any longer. Even if he hated me, at least I would know.
“I rushed you out of there like a jealous alpha.”
All the air whooshed from my lungs. I flung myself back in the chair. I felt like I’d won the back-and-forth between us, but soon the guilt rushed in. I’d forced this on him. It didn’t feel like a win at all.
And yet, it was mostly his fault.
“And are you…a jealous alpha?”
He leaned forward and put his hands on my knees. His warmth zinged at the point of contact and radiated through my body. Goose bumps lifted the skin of my legs, and I couldn’t stop the moan that came from my mouth. “I am. Seeing you so close to Zenith. The way he was smiling at you. Flirting. Touching. It was either get you out of there, or kill my sleuth mate. I chose the less bloody one.”
I blew out a long breath. I was messing this up. This sleuth had taken me in after I barged inside their territory and cared for me and now, I was causing strife between them. That was the last thing I wanted.
“I can leave. If it makes it easier on you. I’ll be okay.” I said the last part after his eyes widened. “You don’t have to worry. I can take care of myself. I always have. Then you can go on with your life.”
He squeezed my knees, his heat ramping up. “You think for a fucking second I’d let you leave me, omega? I would if you wanted to but to save me? No way. Why do you think leaving would solve anything?”
“Because you were clearly okay before I came along.”
He spread my legs apart and reached between them, gripping the edge of the chair only inches from my groin. I watched the movement, not able to tear my eyes off how close he was to where I wanted him. My heartbeat tripled in speed and blood pumped through my body, raising my temperature until I thought I might burst. He pulled the chair so that we were face-to-face. Our noses only an inch away. Our breaths mingling. “Omega, before you, there was only the hope. I saw the others with their mates and their new cubs. I wanted that for myself, but I was missing the piece. I was missing you. I-I know I haven’t been the best alpha, but at first, I thought you were a spy. You didn’t remember anything. But I know you’re mine, and there’s a reason your bear led you here. You are mine.”
“I already know that,” I quipped, laughing. He smiled and then broke into a laugh as well.
“I’m glad one of us doesn’t have his head up his ass.”
I looked at him then. Really allowed myself to stare. He had a dimple on one side of his face, near his chin. It only dented inward when he smiled a certain way. He had a few freckles under his eyes, less than a dozen.
“What are you thinking?” I asked as his gaze dipped to my lips. My cock strained against my shorts, which I was sure hid nothing of my hardness. My thighs throbbed. My stomach fluttered with anticipation. His breath smelled like perfectly creamed coffee with a hint of vanilla and his honey scent.
“Before you, I was half of myself. If you leave, I’ll never recover, omega.”
His words undid me. I leaned forward and closed the distance between our lips. I pressed mine to his, timidly at first, waiting for his response. I didn’t have to wait long. He weaved his fingers into the back of my hair, pulled me closer, and kissed the hell out of me.
Chapter Eleven
