Page 9 of Our Haunted Omegas
“Sorry about that,” he said, his hands still trembling. “When my dragon gets something in his head he usually doesn’t rest until he gets it done. That doesn’t always work out for the best.”
“I think you’re an empath,” I whispered. “Maybe that’s how you picked up on it. Sometimes I smell them too. Not the people, the bombs. It’s like London’s still on fire and I’m the only one who can see it.”
He reached out a trembling hand and cupped my face. I leaned into his warmth and let my eyes drift closed for a long second. His hand was nearly bigger than my head, but his skin was soft and his touch gentle. If we’d met on a better day, he’d be the sort of guy I’d pout about not being able to bring home because looks like that meant he didn’t have to put up with my trauma bullshit or our tiny apartment.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No,” I shook my head. “I fell down before you even got to me. As soon as I smelled you it was like my legs forgot how to work. They do that sometimes on bad days. It’s like I’m frozen on the street all over again. Like the—Never mind. I can’t talk about that right now.”
Yeah. He was going to think his true-mate was a crazy person.
He stroked my cheek with his thumb until my heartrate righted itself. I thought about climbing to my feet but wanted him to keep touching me. So instead, I scooted closer to him until he stretched out on his back and pulled me on top him. He had blue eyes and dark hair and lips that made me want to kiss him or maybe just trace their outlines with the tip of my tongue to commit their shape to memory. I settled down to find that he was hard too. I froze for a second at the sheer size of his dick brushing against my leg and waited for him to kiss me or grab my ass. That’s what true-mates did after all, right? Only, he didn’t try anything. Instead, he wrapped his big arms around me and closed his eyes. His sleeveless blue shirt didn’t leave anything to the imagination and his heart hammered against my chest from underneath.
“Ask him about the forks,”my wolf whispered desperate to fill the silence. We both hated silence with anyone who wasn’t Ambry. How was I supposed to know what I did wrong if no one spoke? How was I supposed to know if the other person was happy or mad or bored or if they straight up hated me?
“What’s up with all the forks?” I asked.
Cobalt opened his big blue eyes and glanced around the shelves.
“I think they’re in the far back aisle,” he shrugged.
“They are. I know that. I work here,” I laughed. “I meant at the dinner parties. Every time Clarence invites us to one of thosepity dinner parties for the survivors there are like fifty-two forks for each person.”
“No clue. I learned it in school but if it’s not regular or a salad fork, I don’t know. Not all of us pay attention to that. Teal could probably tell you if you really wanted to know. We could look it up online too.”
As if summoned by his words his phone vibrated inside his pocket.
“That’s probably my friend wondering where the coconuts and limes are. Actually…” he took a deep breath. “I think my reputation proceeds me enough…”
“I’m taking the stuff over now,” Teal said walking by. “Tred carefully, brother.”
“I was trying to.”
“What’s up?” I asked. “Don’t leave me out of the loop. I get it. I do. Ambry and I get like that but it makes me fidgety.”
“How much do you want to be in the loop?” Cobalt asked.
“Is it illegal?” I whispered.
“Not yet anyway,” he laughed. “I was trying to hook up with someone by stocking their bar for the festival tomorrow. I’m not going to now, of course. Hell, to be honest, I wasn’t so sure it was going to happen at all. I—”
“You don’t have to explain. I didn’t plan on meeting you tonight either. When Teal told me about Ambry and your brother I was sure I was going to have to hunt for a new apartment or at least figure out how to pay rent on my own. Shit! That might still happen and…”
My heart raced again, and I pressed my forehead against his shoulder. His hands trembled against my back as if his dragon rattled his skeleton in his escape attempts.
“I know everyone is all about independence these days or mutual aid or whatever is popular now but at the risk of sounding like an entitled prick, you’ll never have to worry aboutany of that stuff again. If there is a roof above my head and food on my table, it’s yours too.”
I nodded because of course it was. That’s how mating worked but he couldn’t promise that I wouldn’t lose Ambry in the process. Was it selfish that I wanted both of them? I wanted my mate and my best friend?
“What is it, mate?” Cobalt whispered. “If it’s just a money problem, I’ll fix it. If that bossy lady is the problem I’ll tell her to shut her trap.”
“It’s not Missy. She’s always bitchy after her heat shot. We always know she’s gotten it recently when she’s like that. I don’t want to lose Ambry.”
“Why would you?” Cobalt blinked at me.
“Because he belongs to Indigo.”
“Indigo belongs to me and Teal,” Cobalt said, not missing a beat.
