Page 313 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus
“On that note,” Nik says, pushing himself out of his chair. “Help me clear the rest of the dishes?”
Oliver gives my shoe a not-so-subtle kick with his, and I nod my agreement.
It’s the middle of April, but it’s still kind of cool here in Virginia, especially now that the sun has gone down.
The breeze that rolls over the water probably doesn’t help, but I’m not cold at all.
In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m sweating fucking bullets. I saw live combat and wasn’t half as stressed as I am right now. My hands are shaking and my armpits reek, which might not be a bad thing because Mel always likes us best when we’re extra ripe after a workout.
Nik gives me a killer peptalk and the ring box.
I’m fucking doing this. As long as I don’t puke all over the back deck, I’m totally asking the woman I love to marry me. Then I get to bond with one of these fuckers to make it official.
Mel comes out to the deck after dinner. She’s got on a pair of stretchy leggings and one of Miller’s long-sleeve T-shirts that dwarfs her small frame.
Oliver carries one of the chunky weave blankets, and once Mel gets settled on the couch, he tucks it around her.
“You’re all being exceptionally strange,” Mel mutters, glancing between us.
Miller shrugs a giant shoulder while Nik chuckles. I bet we do look bizarre as hell. I’m not helping matters. I clear my throat and swipe my hands on my pants a couple of times.
I had a speech prepared. I’m not extremely eloquent or anything, but I thought it didn’t suck. My brain blanks completely, and everything I was going to say disappears.
“You’re looking a little like you might pass out. Do you want to sit next to me?” Mel asks, pulling her knees up to free the seat next to her.
I stagger forward, tossing myself down next to her. I turn to face her and she leans forward.
I grab her hand, but I still can’t remember any of the shit that I was supposed to say.
“Dylan?” Mel asks, brushing the fingers of her free hand over my cheek.
“I’ve lived a lot of years. I’ve been around the world; seen and done things, some I’m proud of and others I regret, but the one thing I’m sure I’ll never regret is you. For the rest of my life if I have a choice, I’m going to choose you. Always, every time. Wherever you are in the world, that’s where I plan to be too. Mel, will you marry me?”
“Marry us?” Nik corrects.
“Yes,” she says, scrambling over into my lap. Her hands land on my face as the blanket bunches between us. “I love you.”
“I love you too, but you’re sitting on the ring.” I laugh, shaking my head. “Shit, that was a fail.”
“I don’t care about that anyway.” She plants a naughty kiss on my lips and spins to face the guys. “Pack marriage?”
“That’s the plan,” Miller says, aiming his phone at us. “Have you made a decision on which one of us you’d like to be your link?”
Initially it seemed like an easy choice. Miller and I have the most in common, and from what I’ve heard, he’s the best at blocking his emotions from spilling over into the bond.
But then I considered Nik because I’ve got serious doubts he ever has much going on inside his head, so I figured it would be easy to tune his ass out.
It took a while, but I eventually circled around to Oliver. We all know how often he gets stuck in his own head, especially in moments like earlier today when he got overstimulated with the paparazzi.
I’ve read about the bond for betas a lot since we were in Texas.
Oliver and I are complete opposites, but that means we have different strengths and weaknesses. Having him as my link means he’ll be the person I’ll be able to feel the strongest outside of Mel, well hopefully, there was some contention on that in my reading.
“Oliver,” I say, catching his attention. “If you’re still willing?”
“Me?” he asks, pointing to his chest. “I mean, yeah.” He laughs. “I didn’t see that one coming.”
“I’ve spent my entire life knowing I’d never experience what a bond is like, and I was okay with that,” I tell Mel. “I don’t want it because I think I might fuck up without it. I want that connection with you. Feeling you on that level and being able to share thoughts... That’s why I want this.”
